VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Buys 21,108 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems increased its VeriSign stake by 7.8% in the third quarter, purchasing 21,108 shares and bringing its holdings to 290,112 shares worth approximately $81.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.9% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with four Buy ratings and two Hold ratings, an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus, and an average price target of $352.
• VeriSign reported quarterly revenue of $443 million, up 5.7% year over year, but earnings of $2.35 per share fell short of estimates. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing a 1.1% yield.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 290,112 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,108 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned about 0.32% of VeriSign worth $81,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parcion Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 11.8% in the third quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,349 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $944,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,982 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 3rd quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush lifted their price target on VeriSign from $351.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $380.00 price objective on VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered VeriSign from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $352.00.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $146,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,349,700.30. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 3,256 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.89, for a total transaction of $989,465.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,283,231.72. This trade represents a 9.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 45,856 shares of company stock valued at $13,497,228 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $307.21 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.86 and a twelve month high of $312.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.56 billion, a PE ratio of 32.69 and a beta of 0.69. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $295.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $271.38.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The information services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.46 by ($0.11). VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 49.06%. The firm had revenue of $443.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $440.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.27 earnings per share. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's payout ratio is currently 34.84%.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc NASDAQ: VRSN provides internet infrastructure services that support the global domain name system. The company operates the authoritative registry for the .com and .net top-level domains and provides registry services for certain other domains, helping maintain the databases that connect domain names with internet addresses.

The company's services include domain name registry operations, domain name registration-related support for accredited registrars, and infrastructure designed to improve the availability, stability, and security of internet naming services.

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