2,385 Shares in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Purchased by First Horizon Corp

First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,385 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $667,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 56.5% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 112.5% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, North Capital Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 239.0% in the 3rd quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 139 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total value of $592,175.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,033.99. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.05, for a total value of $1,250,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 442,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,763,648.30. The trade was a 1.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 40,335 shares of company stock worth $10,040,461 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $246.34 on Wednesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.37 and a 1 year high of $310.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $246.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $264.10.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 35.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.00.

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.