State of Wyoming Purchases New Shares in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• State of Wyoming acquired 6,456 VeriSign shares worth approximately $1.624 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 92.9% of the company, with several major funds also increasing or initiating positions.
• VeriSign reported quarterly EPS of $2.38, beating estimates of $2.36, while revenue rose 6% year over year to $434.6 million. Shares opened at $284.24, and analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with a $328.75 price target.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, equivalent to $3.24 annually and a 1.1% yield. Meanwhile, insiders sold 33,200 shares worth approximately $9.14 million during the last quarter.

State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,456 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,624,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $312,900,000. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP bought a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $149,686,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,169 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $976,700,000 after purchasing an additional 496,674 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in VeriSign by 191.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 626,570 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $152,225,000 after purchasing an additional 411,728 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 1,035.6% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 420,830 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $117,651,000 after purchasing an additional 383,771 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $284.24 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year high of $312.48. The company's 50-day moving average is $273.27 and its 200 day moving average is $263.57. The company has a market capitalization of $25.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.83 and a beta of 0.70.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John Calys sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.56, for a total value of $140,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,087 shares in the company, valued at $8,752,855.72. The trade was a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.35, for a total value of $146,175.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 34,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,100,984.85. The trade was a 1.43% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 33,200 shares of company stock valued at $9,142,891. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VRSN. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $328.75.

VeriSign Company 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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