Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $326.12 Million Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership reduced its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,342,349 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 38,952 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $326,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 12.3% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 104.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in VeriSign by 122.1% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 2.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $279.89 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $283.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $255.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.93 and a beta of 0.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.49 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,538,548.90. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total value of $141,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at $10,363,670.54. This represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 13,596 shares of company stock worth $3,834,345 over the last 90 days. Company 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.