Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Sells 5,396 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 80.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,273 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 5,396 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 8.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,199,318,000 after purchasing an additional 861,065 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 8.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,189,285,000 after purchasing an additional 321,737 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 13.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,523,495 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $985,063,000 after purchasing an additional 426,492 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 4.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,049,235 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $293,335,000 after purchasing an additional 44,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 1.7% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 675,608 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $188,880,000 after purchasing an additional 11,440 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $295.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.90 billion, a PE ratio of 32.67 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $272.63 and its 200-day moving average is $252.28. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The company’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. Analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total transaction of $115,426.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,277,689.84. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total transaction of $1,355,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 6,826 shares of company stock worth $1,821,354 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on VRSN shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.67.

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.