Florida Financial Advisors LLC Takes $1.20 Million Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Florida Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 4,278 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,196,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRSN. Strategy Asset Managers LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at about $654,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 357,611 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $99,977,000 after purchasing an additional 36,829 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,719 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,435 shares during the last quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 68,706 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,208,000 after buying an additional 13,837 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign during the third quarter worth $17,800,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.00.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.07, for a total value of $125,285.07. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,609 shares in the company, valued at $7,904,462.63. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.59, for a total transaction of $1,222,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 434,099 shares in the company, valued at $106,176,274.41. This trade represents a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 30,662 shares of company stock valued at $7,542,047 over the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN opened at $219.03 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $310.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $242.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $257.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86 and a beta of 0.75.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.96%.

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.