Captrust Financial Advisors Boosts Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 174.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 576,395 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 366,664 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors owned 0.62% of VeriSign worth $161,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter worth about $300,249,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in VeriSign by 8.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,199,318,000 after purchasing an additional 861,065 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 32.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,003 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $894,414,000 after purchasing an additional 767,363 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in VeriSign by 394.1% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 552,008 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $154,325,000 after buying an additional 440,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in VeriSign by 1,035.6% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 420,830 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $117,651,000 after buying an additional 383,771 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $242.15 on Wednesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $22.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $236.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.56.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 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 the consensus estimate of $424.04 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.84% and a negative return on equity of 40.40%. VeriSign’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 EPS.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 36.78%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total transaction of $115,426.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,028 shares in the company, valued at $9,277,689.84. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.20, for a total value of $1,241,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 416,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,275,771.80. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 9,490 shares of company stock worth $2,338,621 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VRSN shares. 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. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, VeriSign has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.00.

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.