Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $3.10 Million Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 41.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,085 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,246 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $3,099,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 12.3% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 104.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 122.1% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $238.61 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $236.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $251.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $310.60. The company has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.08 and a beta of 0.76.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.06). VeriSign had a net margin of 49.84% and a negative return on equity of 40.40%. The business had revenue of $425.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 36.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.20, for a total transaction of $1,241,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 416,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,275,771.80. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.08, for a total transaction of $124,041.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,501,044.20. This trade represents a 1.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,158 shares of company stock worth $3,956,185. Insiders own 0.84% 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.