VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its VeriSign stake by 36% in the second quarter, selling 174,207 shares and retaining 310,344 shares valued at approximately $78.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.9% of VRSN.
• VeriSign reported quarterly EPS of $2.38, beating estimates by $0.02, while revenue rose 6% year over year to $434.6 million. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $328.75.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, equivalent to an annualized $3.24 payout and a 1.1% yield. Company insiders sold 32,700 shares worth nearly $9.0 million over the past three months.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 36.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 310,344 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 174,207 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.34% of VeriSign worth $78,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% during 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 during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during 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 during the period. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 788.0% during 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 increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 120.8% in the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $294.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.95 and a beta of 0.70. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48. The business's 50-day moving average is $274.16 and its 200-day moving average is $262.29.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.20% and a net margin of 49.76%.VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $328.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 439,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. The trade was 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 sold a total of 32,700 shares of company stock worth $8,996,716 over the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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