Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN – Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,277 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $814,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $312,900,000. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $149,686,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,169 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $976,700,000 after purchasing an additional 496,674 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 191.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 626,570 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $152,225,000 after purchasing an additional 411,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 1,035.6% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 420,830 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $117,651,000 after buying an additional 383,771 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
VeriSign Price Performance
VRSN stock opened at $290.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.19 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $274.47 and its 200-day moving average is $260.64. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48.
VeriSign Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 35.14%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 439,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total transaction of $141,770.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,363,670.54. This trade 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. Insiders have sold 28,900 shares of company stock worth $7,872,034 over the last ninety days. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRSN. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wedbush increased their price target on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $328.75.
Check Out Our Latest Report on VRSN
VeriSign Company 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.
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