Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Lowers Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA reduced its VeriSign stake by 17.4% in the first quarter, selling 9,772 shares and leaving it with 46,364 shares valued at about $11.5 million.
• Analysts remain generally positive on VeriSign, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $327.67 after several firms raised targets or reiterated bullish ratings.
• VeriSign reported solid quarterly results, topping EPS and revenue estimates, while also paying a $0.81 quarterly dividend; however, recent insider selling included CEO D. James Bidzos and EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto.

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA cut its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 17.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,364 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 9,772 shares during the quarter. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA owned 0.05% of VeriSign worth $11,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 12.3% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 104.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in VeriSign by 122.1% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 2.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $256.43 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $279.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $256.58. The stock has a market cap of $23.34 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The business 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 business's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.94, for a total transaction of $828,102.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 426,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,935,320.66. This trade represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 250 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.83, for a total transaction of $63,957.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,286,884.83. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 23,746 shares of company stock worth $6,451,479 over the last ninety days. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRSN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.