VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Purchased by Andra AP fonden

Andra AP fonden increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,200 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,900 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $34,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 104.5% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 122.1% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 5.0%

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $225.29 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $238.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60. The company has a market cap of $20.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57 and a beta of 0.75.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $425.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.04 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.40% and a net margin of 49.84%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, VeriSign presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.00.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total transaction of $496,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,812,499.72. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.24, for a total transaction of $36,393.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,213,122.52. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 23,662 shares of company stock worth $5,799,697 over the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.