Capstone Capital Management Ltd Invests $992,000 in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Capstone Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,083 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $992,000. VeriSign accounts for about 1.0% of Capstone Capital Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the third quarter worth $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 51.5% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,538,548.90. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total transaction of $115,426.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,277,689.84. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,826 shares of company stock worth $1,821,354. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 2.6%

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $305.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.74 and a beta of 0.68. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.86 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $263.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $249.06.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

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.