Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Trims Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 59.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 44,730 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 64,719 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $11,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foster & Motley Inc. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 18,225 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,908 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter worth $1,043,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter worth $604,000. OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter valued at $2,077,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 122.2% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 484,551 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $120,343,000 after purchasing an additional 266,477 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total transaction of $1,355,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,538,548.90. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.83, for a total value of $63,957.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,286,884.83. This trade represents a 0.68% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,746 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,479. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $256.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.34 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s fifty day moving average is $279.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $256.58. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 35.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VRSN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.67.

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.