Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Sells 4,845 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management sharply reduced its VeriSign position, selling 4,845 shares in the fourth quarter and leaving it with 891 shares valued at about $216,000.
• VeriSign reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $2.34 EPS versus the $2.30 consensus and revenue of $428.9 million, up 6.6% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.81, or $3.24 annualized, while analysts currently hold a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $317.67.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lessened its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 84.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 891 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,845 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in VeriSign were worth $216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 788.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $294.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.84 billion, a PE ratio of 32.59 and a beta of 0.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $312.48. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $279.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $254.49.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.49 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 $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 35.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.45, for a total value of $146,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,872,615.95. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. This trade represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 10,128 shares of company stock valued at $2,834,304 over the last ninety days. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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