Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Invests $1.04 Million in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Kesler Norman & Wride LLC opened a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter, buying 4,267 shares valued at about $1.04 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted their holdings, and 92.9% of VeriSign stock is owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• VeriSign reported quarterly EPS of $2.34, beating estimates, while revenue rose 6.6% year over year; the company also paid a $0.81 quarterly dividend and analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with a $317.67 average price target.

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,267 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,037,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in VeriSign by 429.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased 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 valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the third quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.45, for a total transaction of $146,725.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,051 shares in the company, valued at $10,872,615.95. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days, insiders sold 10,128 shares of company stock valued at $2,834,304. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.1%

VRSN opened at $297.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $27.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.83 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $278.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $253.92. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The company had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is presently 35.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on VRSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. 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 upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird increased 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. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $317.67.

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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