Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN – Free Report) by 44.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,236 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,823 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategy Asset Managers LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $654,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in VeriSign by 11.5% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 357,611 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $99,977,000 after purchasing an additional 36,829 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in VeriSign by 159.6% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 5,626 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 9.6% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,719 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the third quarter worth $26,647,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
VRSN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.67.
VeriSign Trading Up 1.6%
VRSN opened at $297.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.88 and a beta of 0.68. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $262.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.59.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.
VeriSign Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.80%.
Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign
In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total transaction of $1,355,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. This trade represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total value of $115,426.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,277,689.84. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,826 shares of company stock worth $1,821,354. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.
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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