Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Trims Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Liontrust Investment Partners reduced its VeriSign stake by 8.1% in the first quarter, selling 28,942 shares and retaining 330,558 shares valued at approximately $82.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.9% of the company.
• VeriSign beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $2.38 in EPS and $434.6 million in revenue, with revenue up 6% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, equating to a 1.1% yield.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, giving VeriSign an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $328.75, above its reported share price of $286.58.

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP trimmed its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 8.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 330,558 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 28,942 shares during the quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP owned 0.36% of VeriSign worth $82,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% in 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% in 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, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 120.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $286.58 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $274.87 and a 200-day moving average of $260.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.08 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The business had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRSN. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One research 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, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $328.75.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP John Calys sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.56, for a total transaction of $140,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,087 shares in the company, valued at $8,752,855.72. This trade represents a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.20, for a total value of $927,960.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 412,939 shares in the company, valued at $116,118,446.80. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their position. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,900 shares of company stock valued at $7,872,034. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

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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