VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its VeriSign stake by 59.1% in the first quarter, selling 64,719 shares and leaving it with 44,730 shares valued at about $11.1 million.
• VeriSign reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $2.34 versus $2.30 expected and revenue of $428.9 million, up 6.6% year over year.
• Analysts remain mostly positive on the stock: the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $327.67, while the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 59.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,730 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 64,719 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's holdings in VeriSign were worth $11,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in VeriSign by 25.3% during 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 during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 12.3% in the 1st 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 during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $1,047,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake 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 valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 2.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,373,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,363,670.54. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 23,746 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,479 over the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup upped their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $327.67.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN stock opened at $256.43 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $279.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.58. 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 $23.34 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 0.71.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The firm had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.80%.

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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