Wick Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Wick Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 240,362 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $58,396,000. VeriSign comprises 4.2% of Wick Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Wick Capital Partners LLC owned 0.26% of VeriSign at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $312,900,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 8.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,199,318,000 after purchasing an additional 861,065 shares during the last quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $149,686,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,169 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $976,700,000 after buying an additional 496,674 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 191.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 626,570 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $152,225,000 after buying an additional 411,728 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $264.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24 and a beta of 0.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $283.46 and a 200 day moving average of $256.16.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 35.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.67.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total value of $141,770.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,363,670.54. This represents a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,538,548.90. The trade was a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,896 shares of company stock worth $4,739,271. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

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.