Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Has $322,000 Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC decreased its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 21.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,270 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 348 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 13,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 106.5% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 32.3% during the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 48.8% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.10, for a total transaction of $143,837.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,769 shares in the company, valued at $10,843,479.90. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.35, for a total transaction of $562,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 515,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $145,112,452.20. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,004 shares of company stock valued at $11,278,592. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Stock Up 6.7%

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $305.79 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $282.03 and its 200-day moving average is $255.55. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $172.49 and a 12 month high of $308.00. The firm has a market cap of $28.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.49 and a beta of 0.78.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. VeriSign’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.01 EPS.

VeriSign announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.