CIBC Asset Management Inc Grows Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 24.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,855 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,252 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $10,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 861,065 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 8.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,189,285,000 after purchasing an additional 321,737 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 13.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,523,495 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $985,063,000 after purchasing an additional 426,492 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $312,900,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 4.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,049,235 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $293,335,000 after purchasing an additional 44,743 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $294.92 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $312.48. The company’s 50 day moving average is $279.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.49. The company has a market cap of $26.84 billion, a PE ratio of 32.59 and a beta of 0.69.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The company had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.49 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.45, for a total value of $146,725.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,872,615.95. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 10,128 shares of company stock valued at $2,834,304 in the last ninety days. 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.