Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. Buys New Shares in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,343 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $569,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 429.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in VeriSign by 788.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $273.87 on Wednesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $312.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.92 billion, a PE ratio of 30.26 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $283.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.99.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The firm had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total value of $141,770.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.29, for a total transaction of $938,157.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 436,039 shares in the company, valued at $123,961,527.31. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 13,596 shares of company stock worth $3,834,345 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, VeriSign has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.