Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Has $8.19 Million Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Harel Insurance Investments reduced its VeriSign stake by 13.9% in Q1, ending with 32,993 shares valued at about $8.19 million.
• VeriSign reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.34 and revenue of $428.9 million, both topping analyst estimates.
• The company paid a $0.81 quarterly dividend and has drawn mixed-but-bullish analyst views, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $327.67.

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 13.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,993 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 5,318 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $8,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $270.52 on Thursday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48. The company has a market capitalization of $24.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average of $279.01 and a 200 day moving average of $258.01.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The company had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $424.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 35.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $327.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.23, for a total transaction of $67,307.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,706,010.73. The trade was a 0.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total transaction of $878,097.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 422,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,513,229.51. The trade was a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 26,300 shares of company stock valued at $7,125,942 in the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About VeriSign

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.