CI Investments Inc. Has $174,000 Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

CI Investments Inc. decreased its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 84.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 621 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,280 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $174,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 112.5% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. North Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 239.0% during 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 during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 51.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised 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 worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Up 2.1%

VRSN stock opened at $243.78 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $252.12. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The company has a market cap of $22.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 0.76.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised 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 company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.00.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 434,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,176,274.41. This trade represents a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.07, for a total transaction of $125,285.07. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,659 shares of company stock valued at $5,788,560. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.