LPL Financial LLC Buys 5,818 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 12.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,194 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,818 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.06% of VeriSign worth $13,504,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in VeriSign by 13,000.0% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.35, for a total transaction of $562,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 515,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $145,112,452.20. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.50, for a total value of $135,019.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,043,726. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,505 shares of company stock valued at $11,130,549 in the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of VRSN stock traded down $2.10 on Friday, reaching $271.89. 613,115 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 876,654. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $281.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $259.36. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $172.49 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.40 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45 and a beta of 0.78.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%. The business had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.01 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information services provider to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Company 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.