Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $1.45 Million in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group initiated a VeriSign position worth approximately $1.45 million by purchasing 5,772 shares in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 92.9% of VRSN.
• VeriSign reported quarterly revenue of $434.6 million, up 6% year over year, and earnings of $2.38 per share, exceeding analyst expectations. Analysts maintain an overall “Buy” rating with an average price target of $328.75.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, equivalent to a $3.24 annualized dividend and a 1.1% yield, while insiders have sold about $11 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,772 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,452,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Groupe la Francaise lifted its position in VeriSign by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,413 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.1% during the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 6.1% during the first quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 802 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $291.93 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $275.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a PE ratio of 31.66 and a beta of 0.70. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRSN. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $328.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, EVP John Calys sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.56, for a total value of $140,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,752,855.72. This represents a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.16, for a total transaction of $960,828.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 398,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $115,907,593.24. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,800 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,624. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

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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