Andra AP fonden Raises Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Andra AP fonden grew its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 134,780 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,580 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $32,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 788.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $279.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $282.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.51.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. VeriSign’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.29, for a total transaction of $938,157.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 436,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $123,961,527.31. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total transaction of $141,770.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. This represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,596 shares of company stock valued at $3,834,345. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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