Westpac Banking Corp Purchases New Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp acquired 4,671 VeriSign shares worth approximately $1.18 million in the second quarter. Institutional ownership now stands at 92.9%, with BlackRock, Norges Bank and other major investors also building positions.
• VeriSign exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.38 in earnings per share and $434.6 million in revenue, up 6% year over year. The company posted a 49.76% net margin.
• Analysts maintain a generally bullish view, with an average “Buy” rating and a $328.75 price target; VeriSign also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, while insiders have sold shares in recent months.

Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,671 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,175,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,116,154,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $312,900,000. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $149,686,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $145,362,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $126,420,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $281.80 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48. The firm's 50 day moving average is $272.60 and its 200-day moving average is $264.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56 and a beta of 0.70.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.85, for a total transaction of $916,905.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 401,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at $111,525,933.65. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John Calys sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.56, for a total value of $140,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,752,855.72. This represents a 1.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,500 shares of company stock valued at $10,059,796. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. Wedbush lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $328.75.

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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