CI Investments Inc. Has $174,000 Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

CI Investments Inc. decreased its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 84.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 621 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,280 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at $300,249,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in VeriSign by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,199,318,000 after acquiring an additional 861,065 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 32.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,003 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $894,414,000 after buying an additional 767,363 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 394.1% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 552,008 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $154,325,000 after acquiring an additional 440,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 496.3% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 352,481 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $101,797,000 after purchasing an additional 293,373 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $243.78 on Monday. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year high of $310.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $252.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 0.76.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $425.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This is a positive change from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.07, for a total transaction of $125,285.07. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,904,462.63. The trade was a 1.56% 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, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.59, for a total transaction of $1,222,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 434,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,176,274.41. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 23,659 shares of company stock worth $5,788,560 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.