VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Has $73.11 Million Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems cut its VeriSign stake by 32.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 146,260 shares and leaving it with 300,931 shares worth about $73.1 million.
• VeriSign’s latest quarter topped expectations, with EPS of $2.34 versus $2.30 expected and revenue of $428.9 million, up 6.6% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, while analysts remain generally positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $317.67.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al trimmed its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 32.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 300,931 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 146,260 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned about 0.32% of VeriSign worth $73,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VRSN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in VeriSign by 25.3% in the first 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 grew its holdings in VeriSign by 12.3% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted 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 grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 122.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,373,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,538,548.90. The trade was a 12.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total transaction of $115,426.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,277,689.84. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,826 shares of company stock valued at $1,821,354. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $285.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.58 and a beta of 0.68. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $258.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $247.61.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's payout ratio is currently 35.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $317.67.

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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