VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon cut its VeriSign stake by 3.8% in the first quarter, though it still held 519,263 shares valued at about $128.96 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive on VeriSign, with four Buy ratings and two Hold ratings, giving the stock a consensus Moderate Buy and an average price target of $325.25.
• VeriSign reported better-than-expected Q1 results, posting EPS of $2.34 versus estimates of $2.30 and revenue of $428.9 million, up 6.6% year over year. The company also saw recent insider selling, including trades by its CEO and an EVP.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 519,263 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 20,269 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.57% of VeriSign worth $128,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Perpetual Ltd grew its holdings in VeriSign by 159.6% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 5,626 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 152.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 308,091 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $75,922,000 after buying an additional 186,029 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its position in VeriSign by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 146,100 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $35,495,000 after buying an additional 22,020 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 49,688 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,179,000 after acquiring an additional 11,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 174,140 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $41,886,000 after acquiring an additional 3,691 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush started coverage on VeriSign in a research report on Thursday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $318.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $325.25.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $277.66 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $278.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $258.44. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.27 billion, a PE ratio of 30.68 and a beta of 0.71.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The company had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $424.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

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

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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