Parsifal Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Parsifal Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 120,484 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $30,308,955. VeriSign comprises approximately 0.0% of Parsifal Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Parsifal Capital Management LP owned about 0.13% of VeriSign as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 788.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded down $1.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $293.21. 323,572 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 814,251. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year high of $312.48. The company has a market cap of $26.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.80 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $274.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $266.19.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted 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. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.20% and a net margin of 49.76%.The company had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.75.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $981,651.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 439,339 shares in the company, valued at $130,690,172.33. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 39,800 shares of company stock worth $11,020,624 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

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.