OP Asset Management Ltd Purchases New Shares in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 8,361 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,077,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in VeriSign by 429.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. 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. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in VeriSign by 788.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $255.62 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $23.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.25 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $281.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $256.27. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 35.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.67.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total value of $141,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,538,548.90. The trade was a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 20,196 shares of company stock worth $5,559,420 over the last quarter. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About VeriSign

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.