GSA Capital Partners LLP Buys Shares of 4,595 VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners acquired 4,595 VeriSign shares worth approximately $1.16 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 92.9% of VRSN, with several major funds recently building positions.
• VeriSign exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.38 EPS on $434.6 million in revenue, up 6% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $328.75.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, equal to a 1.2% annualized yield, while insiders sold 33,200 shares worth $9.14 million over the past three months.

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 4,595 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,156,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRSN. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at about $312,900,000. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP purchased a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $149,686,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,169 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $976,700,000 after purchasing an additional 496,674 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 191.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 626,570 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $152,225,000 after purchasing an additional 411,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 1,035.6% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 420,830 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $117,651,000 after purchasing an additional 383,771 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $272.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.63 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58 and a beta of 0.70. The firm's 50-day moving average is $273.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.82. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. Analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.14%.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total value of $141,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at $10,363,670.54. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $981,651.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 439,339 shares in the company, valued at $130,690,172.33. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 33,200 shares of company stock valued at $9,142,891 in the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wedbush raised their target price on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $328.75.

VeriSign 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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