Osaic Holdings Inc. Has $1.72 Million Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 125.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,967 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,315 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $103,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 12.3% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 10,332 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter worth $205,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 266.4% in the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 29,044 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,388,000 after buying an additional 21,117 shares during the period. Finally, Marex Group plc purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter valued at $210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VRSN. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $281.67.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $245.15 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $267.03. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $202.64 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The stock has a market cap of $22.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57 and a beta of 0.78.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.07, for a total transaction of $125,285.07. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,904,462.63. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.25, for a total value of $488,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 423,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,341,930.75. This represents a 0.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 47,839 shares of company stock valued at $12,042,404 over the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.