Avanza Fonder AB Invests $640,000 in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,635 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $640,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 112.5% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. North Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 239.0% during the third quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 139 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total transaction of $496,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,812,499.72. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total transaction of $79,885.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,696 shares in the company, valued at $9,551,651.52. This trade represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,490 shares of company stock worth $2,338,621. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $251.70 on Thursday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The company has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a PE ratio of 28.57 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.33.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $424.04 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.84% and a negative return on equity of 40.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on VRSN shares. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

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.