VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its VeriSign position by 8.3% in the first quarter, selling 4,000 shares and retaining 43,941 shares valued at approximately $10.9 million. Institutional investors still own 92.9% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with VeriSign carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $328.75. Several firms recently raised their targets, including Robert W. Baird to $355.
• VeriSign reported quarterly revenue of $434.6 million and EPS of $2.38, both slightly above estimates, while revenue increased 6% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing a 1.1% yield.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,941 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's holdings in VeriSign were worth $10,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in VeriSign by 788.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in VeriSign by 120.8% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRSN. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup raised their price objective 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. Wedbush lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, VeriSign currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $328.75.

VeriSign Stock Up 3.1%

VRSN stock opened at $298.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.42 and a beta of 0.70. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $312.48. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $274.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $261.10.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.20, for a total transaction of $927,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 412,939 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $116,118,446.80. This represents a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 VeriSign stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $140,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,954,280. This trade represents a 1.39% 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 28,900 shares of company stock worth $7,872,034. 0.56% of the stock is 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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