VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Position Decreased by KBC Group NV

Key Points

• KBC Group NV cut its VeriSign stake by 72.1% in the first quarter, selling 66,859 shares and ending with 25,871 shares worth about $6.4 million.
• VeriSign insiders also sold shares recently: CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares and EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 250 shares, with insiders selling a total of 26,300 shares over the last three months.
• The company recently beat earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $2.34 EPS on $428.9 million in revenue, while analysts remain constructive with a Moderate Buy rating and a consensus price target of $325.25.

KBC Group NV lessened its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 72.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,871 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 66,859 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in VeriSign were worth $6,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRSN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 12.3% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 104.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,047,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 122.1% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,373,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total transaction of $878,097.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 422,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,513,229.51. This trade represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 250 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.23, for a total value of $67,307.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,706,010.73. The trade was a 0.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 26,300 shares of company stock valued at $7,125,942 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $262.59 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average is $277.52 and its 200-day moving average is $258.96. The company has a market capitalization of $23.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02 and a beta of 0.71. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on VeriSign in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $318.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, VeriSign currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $325.25.

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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