VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Newly Purchased by Vise Technologies Inc.

Key Points

• Vise Technologies initiated a position in VeriSign, buying 8,455 shares worth about $2.38 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors own 92.9% of the company’s stock.
• VeriSign’s latest quarterly revenue rose 5.7% year over year to $443 million, topping estimates, while earnings per share of $2.35 missed the $2.46 consensus. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, equivalent to a 1.0% annual yield.
• Analysts give VeriSign a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $352. Executives sold 45,856 shares worth roughly $13.6 million over the past 90 days.

Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,455 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,384,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Groupe la Francaise grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,413 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.1% during the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 4.3% during the second quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 6.1% during the first quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 802 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 19.0% in the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $312.06 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $324.63. The stock's 50-day moving average is $297.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.67. The firm has a market cap of $27.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.98 and a beta of 0.66.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The information services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $443.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $440.58 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 49.06%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.27 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.57 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. VeriSign's payout ratio is 34.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Zacks Research lowered shares of VeriSign from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of VeriSign from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $380.00 target price on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, VeriSign has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $352.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.38, for a total value of $154,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,712,985.10. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Danny Mcpherson sold 3,256 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.89, for a total transaction of $989,465.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,283,231.72. This trade represents a 9.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 45,856 shares of company stock worth $13,556,803 over the last ninety days. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

VeriSign Profile

VeriSign, Inc NASDAQ: VRSN provides internet infrastructure services that support the global domain name system. The company operates the authoritative registry for the .com and .net top-level domains and provides registry services for certain other domains, helping maintain the databases that connect domain names with internet addresses.

The company's services include domain name registry operations, domain name registration-related support for accredited registrars, and infrastructure designed to improve the availability, stability, and security of internet naming services.

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 reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.