Essential Partners LLC Sells 4,340 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Essential Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 61.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,673 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,340 shares during the period. Essential Partners LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $664,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% during 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 during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during 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 during the period. 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 buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in VeriSign by 120.8% in 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 buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.5%

VRSN opened at $286.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a PE ratio of 31.08 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $274.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $260.44.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 35.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $328.75.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.20, for a total value of $927,960.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 412,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,118,446.80. This represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $140,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,954,280. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 28,900 shares of company stock valued at $7,872,034 over the last quarter. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Company 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.