VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Acquired by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its VeriSign stake by 202.7% in the first quarter, owning 9,983 shares valued at approximately $2.48 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.9% of the company.
• VeriSign reported quarterly EPS of $2.38, exceeding estimates of $2.36, while revenue rose 6% year over year to $434.6 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing a 1.1% yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $328.75 versus the reported share price of $290.02.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 202.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,983 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,685 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund's holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 429.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 25.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in VeriSign by 788.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in 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 worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $290.02 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $274.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.64. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $312.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46 and a beta of 0.71.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wedbush raised their price target on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $328.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 439,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total transaction of $141,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. This trade represents a 1.35% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 28,900 shares of company stock worth $7,872,034 in the last 90 days. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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