Amiral Gestion Raises Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Amiral Gestion grew its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 1,142.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 110,357 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 101,474 shares during the quarter. VeriSign accounts for approximately 9.8% of Amiral Gestion’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Amiral Gestion owned about 0.12% of VeriSign worth $26,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,779 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,616,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 452 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, WealthCollab LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 312 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 332 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were 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 $9,551,651.52. This trade represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total transaction of $496,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,812,499.72. This 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 9,490 shares of company stock valued at $2,338,621. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

VeriSign Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $247.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $235.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $249.09. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.86 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09 and a beta of 0.76.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.