VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Purchased by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 186.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 234,224 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 152,478 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP owned 0.26% of VeriSign worth $58,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 12.3% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 104.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,047,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $290.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.55 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $275.26 and a 200 day moving average of $260.17.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.20% and a net margin of 49.76%.The company had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 35.14%.

Key VeriSign News

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded VeriSign to “Strong Buy” from “Hold,” citing growing optimism about the company’s earnings prospects. The upgrade gives investors a fresh bullish signal and may be the main catalyst supporting the stock. VeriSign Upgraded to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis upgraded the stock, arguing that the market may be overlooking aspects of VeriSign’s business and post-earnings outlook. The company’s recurring domain-registry revenue, strong margins and earnings beat provide support for the bullish view. VeriSign Analysis and Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst targets remain above the trading range, with a reported consensus target of $328.75 and several firms maintaining Buy or Outperform ratings. This suggests potential upside, although the stock is already near its 52-week high.
• Neutral Sentiment: VeriSign outperformed several competitors during a broadly weaker session, indicating relative investor resilience, though the report did not identify a new fundamental catalyst. VeriSign Outperforms Competitors
• Negative Sentiment: CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares, while EVPs John Calys and Thomas Indelicarto each sold 500 shares. The transactions reduced their individual holdings modestly, but the CEO and EVP sales were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as a bearish signal. VeriSign SEC Insider Sale Filing

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total value of $141,770.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 439,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. This represents 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 28,900 shares of company stock worth $7,872,034 in the last ninety days. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. Citigroup raised their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.75.

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.