Inceptionr LLC Acquires 2,523 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Inceptionr LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 56.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,968 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,523 shares during the period. VeriSign makes up 0.5% of Inceptionr LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Inceptionr LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in 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 VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in VeriSign by 788.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $288.09 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $282.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.31. The company has a market cap of $26.22 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83 and a beta of 0.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The firm had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.45, for a total transaction of $146,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,872,615.95. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 439,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,690,172.33. The trade was a 0.75% 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 sold 9,796 shares of company stock valued at $2,754,418 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.