BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 105,596 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 34.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 408,356 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 105,596 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in VeriSign were worth $99,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in VeriSign by 8.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,199,318,000 after buying an additional 861,065 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in VeriSign by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,189,285,000 after purchasing an additional 321,737 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,523,495 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $985,063,000 after purchasing an additional 426,492 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at $312,900,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,049,235 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $293,335,000 after purchasing an additional 44,743 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.06, for a total value of $134,489.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,316,832.12. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was 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 directly owned 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. This trade represents a 12.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,826 shares of company stock valued at $1,821,354. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $285.38 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $25.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.53 and a beta of 0.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $274.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $252.93.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The company had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRSN. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.67.

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.