Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC Buys Shares of 2,466 VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,466 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $613,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 872 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. One Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 19.1% in the third quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 312 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Corp boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Trading Up 3.0%

VRSN stock opened at $266.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $279.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $256.97. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48. The stock has a market cap of $24.28 billion, a PE ratio of 29.48 and a beta of 0.71.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The company had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. VeriSign’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.83, for a total transaction of $63,957.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,301 shares in the company, valued at $9,286,884.83. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.94, for a total value of $828,102.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 426,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,935,320.66. This represents a 0.77% decrease in their position. 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 23,248 shares of company stock worth $6,315,027 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 report on Friday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.67.

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.