Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Acquires New Stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,321 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,101,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cypress Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $218,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in VeriSign by 4,149.6% during the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 94,935 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,648,000 after acquiring an additional 92,701 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $1,722,000. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $5,268,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,327,130 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $273,853,000 after purchasing an additional 229,311 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total transaction of $170,274.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,059,955.65. This trade represents a 13.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,447 shares of company stock worth $386,654 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $281.41 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $168.51 and a 52-week high of $288.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $252.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.43. The firm has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.18 and a beta of 0.80.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10. The company had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%. VeriSign’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.