Xponance Inc. Sells 14,575 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Xponance Inc. trimmed its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 52.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,237 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 14,575 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $3,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 17,825 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,983,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 6.9% during the third quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 3,756 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 170,449 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,652,000 after buying an additional 12,899 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 60.4% during the third quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 1,383 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.24, for a total value of $36,393.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,213,122.52. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total value of $496,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,812,499.72. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 23,662 shares of company stock worth $5,799,697 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of VRSN opened at $227.94 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $237.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $253.25. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $20.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.87 and a beta of 0.76.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on VRSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report 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, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.00.

VeriSign 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.