Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. Makes New $660,000 Investment in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. has made a significant new investment in VeriSign, Inc., acquiring 2,159 shares valued at approximately $660,000 during the second quarter.
• Analysts have issued a generally positive outlook for VeriSign, with ratings including "buy" and an increased price target to $305.00, along with a consensus target price of $277.50.
• VeriSign's board has initiated a $1.11 billion share buyback program that allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares, which typically indicates confidence in the stock's undervaluation.

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. acquired a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,159 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $660,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 56.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $277.50.

VeriSign Trading Down 5.4%

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $251.94 on Thursday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $274.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.28. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.62 and a 12 month high of $310.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.06 and a beta of 0.79.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.01 EPS.

VeriSign announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information services provider to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total value of $1,320,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 508,772 shares in the company, valued at $134,392,123.80. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 38,706 shares of company stock valued at $10,591,676 in the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

VeriSign Profile

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.

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 and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.