Caerus Investment Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 3,998 VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Caerus Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,998 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings 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 position in VeriSign during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in VeriSign by 429.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. North Capital Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 51.5% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on VRSN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered their price target 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. Finally, Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total transaction of $79,885.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,551,651.52. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total value of $496,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,490 shares of company stock valued at $2,338,621. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $242.15 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $236.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.56. 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 $22.21 billion, a PE ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 0.76.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $425.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

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

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.