2,257 Shares in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Acquired by E Fund Management Co. Ltd.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,257 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Groupe la Francaise boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,413 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 2.1% during the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 6.1% in the first quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 802 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Citigroup raised their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wedbush boosted their price target on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $328.75.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $276.90 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $272.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $264.41. The firm has a market cap of $25.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03 and a beta of 0.70.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 35.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John Calys sold 500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.56, for a total value of $140,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,752,855.72. This trade represents a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.35, for a total transaction of $146,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 34,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,100,984.85. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 36,500 shares of company stock valued at $10,059,796 over the last 90 days. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.