NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Acquires 2,948 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 41.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,138 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,948 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position 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 last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. North Capital Inc. increased its stake 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, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN stock opened at $240.78 on Monday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $310.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $235.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.84. The company has a market capitalization of $22.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.33 and a beta of 0.76.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $425.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.04 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.40% and a net margin of 49.84%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.20, for a total transaction of $1,241,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 416,099 shares in the company, valued at $103,275,771.80. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total value of $115,426.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,028 shares in the company, valued at $9,277,689.84. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,490 shares of company stock worth $2,338,621. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Company 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.