Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. Makes New Investment in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,850 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $717,000. VeriSign accounts for approximately 0.7% of Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 429.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 25.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in VeriSign by 788.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in VeriSign by 120.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of VRSN opened at $284.24 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $312.48. The stock has a market cap of $25.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.83 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $273.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.57.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, VeriSign currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.54, for a total value of $978,582.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 409,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $121,474,349.06. This trade represents a 0.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.35, for a total transaction of $146,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 34,551 shares in the company, valued at $10,100,984.85. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 33,200 shares of company stock worth $9,142,891. Insiders own 0.56% 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.