VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd cut its VeriSign stake by 69.8% in the first quarter, selling 9,930 shares and leaving it with 4,298 shares worth about $1.07 million.
• VeriSign reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, posting EPS of $2.34 versus the $2.30 estimate and revenue of $428.9 million, up 6.6% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $327.67, while the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 69.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,298 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 9,930 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 54.3% in the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 102,429 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $25,439,000 after buying an additional 36,040 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 1st quarter worth approximately $613,000. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 262.4% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd grew its position in VeriSign by 5.4% in the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 17,455 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,337,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 13.5% in the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,286 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.0%

VRSN stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $270.11. 369,654 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 802,014. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $279.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $257.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85 and a beta of 0.71.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $424.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 35.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup lifted 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, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $327.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $981,651.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 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 the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total transaction of $1,355,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. This trade represents a 12.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 26,798 shares of company stock valued at $7,260,432 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

About VeriSign

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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