Assetmark Inc. Has $9.86 Million Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Assetmark Inc. raised its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 17.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,264 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,293 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $9,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 112.5% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. North Capital Inc. boosted its stake in VeriSign by 239.0% in the third quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 139 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 51.5% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.59, for a total transaction of $1,222,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 434,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,176,274.41. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.07, for a total transaction of $125,285.07. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,609 shares in the company, valued at $7,904,462.63. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 30,662 shares of company stock worth $7,542,047 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VRSN. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN opened at $219.03 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $20.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $242.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $256.83. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.06). VeriSign had a net margin of 49.84% and a negative return on equity of 40.40%. The business had revenue of $425.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. VeriSign’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This is a boost from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.96%.

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.