2,770 Shares in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Bought by Caprock Group LLC

Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,770 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $757,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 318,338 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $88,998,000 after acquiring an additional 6,471 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,403,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,890,000. Profund Advisors LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 4,691 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 4.1% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,078 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,054,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $219.03 on Tuesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $310.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $242.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.48. The stock has a market cap of $20.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86 and a beta of 0.75.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.24, for a total transaction of $36,393.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,023 shares in the company, valued at $9,213,122.52. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 shares were sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total value of $496,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,812,499.72. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,662 shares of company stock valued at $6,291,797. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on VRSN. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.