VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN is Amiral Gestion’s 3rd Largest Position

Amiral Gestion lifted its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 1,142.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 110,357 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 101,474 shares during the period. VeriSign comprises approximately 9.8% of Amiral Gestion’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Amiral Gestion’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $26,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,779 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management grew its holdings in VeriSign by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 452 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 51.5% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, WealthCollab LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 19.1% during the third quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 312 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $247.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09 and a beta of 0.76. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.09.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results 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). VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.40% and a net margin of 49.84%.The firm had revenue of $425.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRSN. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total transaction of $496,560.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,812,499.72. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 332 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total value of $79,885.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,551,651.52. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,490 shares of company stock valued at $2,338,621. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.