Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $2.64 Million Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Kentucky Retirement Systems doubled its VeriSign position in the first quarter, owning 10,636 shares valued at approximately $2.64 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds hold 92.9% of VRSN’s outstanding shares.
• Analyst sentiment is favorable, with the stock carrying an average “Buy” rating and an average price target of $328.75. Recent target increases included Wedbush to $324 and Robert W. Baird to $355.
• VeriSign beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $2.38 in EPS and $434.6 million in revenue, while revenue rose 6% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, although insiders have sold 28,900 shares worth $7.87 million over the past 90 days.

Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 100.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,636 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,343 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 788.0% in 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. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated 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 issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $328.75.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $140,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,954,280. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.20, for a total transaction of $927,960.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 412,939 shares in the company, valued at $116,118,446.80. This represents a 0.79% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,900 shares of company stock valued at $7,872,034. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $286.58 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $312.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.08 and a beta of 0.71. The stock's fifty day moving average is $274.87 and its 200 day moving average is $260.44.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.20% and a net margin of 49.76%.VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's payout ratio is presently 35.14%.

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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