Geode Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management reduced its VeriSign stake by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 29,184 shares and leaving it with 2.42 million shares valued at about $587.8 million.
• VeriSign reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.34 versus the $2.30 estimate and revenue of $428.9 million, up 6.6% year over year.
• The company also paid a $0.81 quarterly dividend and currently has a yield of about 1.1%; meanwhile, analysts rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with a $317.67 price target.

Geode Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,420,750 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 29,184 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.64% of VeriSign worth $587,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 12.3% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 104.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 122.1% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 2.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $285.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.53 and a beta of 0.68. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year high of $312.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $274.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $252.89.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The company had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total transaction of $115,426.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,277,689.84. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,826 shares of company stock worth $1,821,354. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on VRSN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $317.67.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc NASDAQ: VRSN is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign's registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.

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