Aquatic Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 16,865 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,715,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. North Capital Inc. grew 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 valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position 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. increased its position in VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 332 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total value of $79,885.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,551,651.52. This trade represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total value of $496,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,099 shares in the company, valued at $102,812,499.72. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,490 shares of company stock worth $2,827,121. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.1%

VRSN stock opened at $241.26 on Tuesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.78. The company has a market cap of $22.12 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38 and a beta of 0.76.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. This is a boost from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. 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 note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

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.