Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 9,290 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC cut its VeriSign stake by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,290 shares and ending with 204,902 shares valued at about $49.9 million.
• VeriSign’s latest earnings beat expectations, with Q1 EPS of $2.34 versus the $2.30 estimate and revenue of $428.9 million, up 6.6% year over year.
• Wall Street remains constructive on the stock: analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $327.67, even as shares recently traded around $247.22.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 204,902 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 9,290 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.22% of VeriSign worth $49,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 429.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings 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 worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VRSN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $327.67.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $247.22 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $282.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $256.20. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32 and a beta of 0.69.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released 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 for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is 35.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total value of $904,926.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 432,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $118,665,688.58. This trade represents a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total transaction of $141,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. The trade was a 1.35% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,896 shares of company stock worth $4,739,271. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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