State of Wyoming Buys 2,059 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

State of Wyoming grew its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 95.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,206 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,059 shares during the period. State of Wyoming’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted 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 worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in VeriSign by 788.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in VeriSign by 120.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $262.59 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $277.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $258.96. The company has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The firm had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. This trade represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. This trade represents a 1.35% 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 90 days, insiders have sold 26,300 shares of company stock worth $7,125,942. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRSN. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $318.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $325.25.

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.