VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Holdings Lowered by Generali Asset Management SPA SGR

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR decreased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 98.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 5,596 shares during the quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $27,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 49.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,111 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 112.5% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,181 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 16,007 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its position in VeriSign by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 447,191 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $125,021,000 after purchasing an additional 17,600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.05, for a total transaction of $1,250,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 442,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,763,648.30. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total transaction of $592,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,033.99. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,338 shares of company stock worth $11,906,698. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research cut VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $281.67.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.5%

VRSN opened at $239.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.88 and a beta of 0.77. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.37 and a 1 year high of $310.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $245.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $265.65.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company 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%.

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.