VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Purchased by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 53.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 547,432 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 189,821 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $132,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 788.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.45, for a total transaction of $146,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,872,615.95. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,796 shares of company stock valued at $2,754,418. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $288.09 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $26.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83 and a beta of 0.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $312.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $282.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $255.31.

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. The business had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 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 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.67.

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.