Fifth Third Bancorp Purchases 9,046 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 208.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,385 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,046 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $3,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 872 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 2.0% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, WealthCollab LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 19.1% during the 3rd 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VRSN stock opened at $277.66 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $25.27 billion, a PE ratio of 30.68 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $278.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $258.44. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year 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, 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 analyst estimates of $424.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 439,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total transaction of $1,355,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,538,548.90. The trade was a 12.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,300 shares of company stock worth $7,125,942. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $318.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.25.

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.