VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Stock: Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Lowers Position

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 7.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 86,053 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,194 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $24,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,476 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $980,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in VeriSign during the 3rd quarter worth $3,105,000. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,607 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $735,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,959 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Finally, Claro Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter worth $249,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $380.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $351.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $352.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.09, for a total value of $960,597.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 394,927 shares in the company, valued at $114,959,300.43. This trade represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,856 shares of company stock worth $13,565,663. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock opened at $314.09 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $299.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.85. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $324.63. The company has a market cap of $28.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.24 and a beta of 0.66.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The information services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.46 by ($0.11). VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 49.06%. The business had revenue of $443.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $440.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.27 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is 34.84%.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc. operates critical internet infrastructure, best known for managing the domain-name registries for .com and .net. It provides the systems that allow domain names in these extensions to be registered and resolved through the Domain Name System, working with registrars that serve businesses and individuals. The company also provides registry services for other domain extensions and supports the security and stability of the internet’s naming infrastructure. Its services are used globally through a network of registrars and other internet service providers.