Lifeworks Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Lifeworks Advisors LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,117 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,761,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its position in VeriSign by 788.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $270.11 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $24.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $279.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $257.49. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The company’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.67.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total value of $141,770.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at $10,363,670.54. The trade was a 1.35% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total transaction of $1,355,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,538,548.90. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 26,798 shares of company stock worth $7,260,432. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.