Hsbc Holdings PLC Makes New $53.25 Million Investment in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC initiated a $53.25 million position in VeriSign during the second quarter, purchasing 212,052 shares and holding approximately 0.23% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 92.9% of VeriSign.
• VeriSign reported quarterly earnings of $2.38 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.02, while revenue rose 6% year over year to $434.6 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, equivalent to a 1.1% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a target price of $328.75. Meanwhile, CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan, and insiders have sold $11.02 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 212,052 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $53,253,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.23% of VeriSign at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st 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. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 788.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 439,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,800 shares of company stock worth $11,020,624. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.3%

VeriSign stock opened at $292.99 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $273.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $265.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $312.48. The stock has a market cap of $26.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78 and a beta of 0.70.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wedbush lifted their target price on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has a consensus 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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