Banque Pictet & Cie SA Reduces Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Banque Pictet & Cie SA trimmed its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,365 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,530 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA owned 0.05% of VeriSign worth $11,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Strategy Asset Managers LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at about $654,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in VeriSign by 11.5% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 357,611 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $99,977,000 after purchasing an additional 36,829 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in VeriSign by 9.6% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,719 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,435 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 30.0% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 80,494 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,504,000 after purchasing an additional 18,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter valued at approximately $17,800,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

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

VeriSign Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $250.77 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $235.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.07. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The company has a market cap of $23.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 49.84% and a negative return on equity of 40.40%. VeriSign’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.