VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Purchased by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 8.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,353 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 29.7% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,743 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,146,000 after buying an additional 5,672 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in VeriSign by 6.4% in the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 19,805 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,720,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 1.1% in the second quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 9,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the second quarter valued at $460,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 274.3% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 32,025 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,249,000 after purchasing an additional 23,470 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 334 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.52, for a total value of $81,669.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,278,224.60. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.05, for a total transaction of $492,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 440,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,499,684.30. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,839 shares of company stock worth $12,660,539. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on VRSN. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research raised VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.67.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN stock opened at $252.08 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.37 billion, a PE ratio of 29.38 and a beta of 0.76. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $185.44 and a 12 month high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.90%.

VeriSign 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.