Essential Partners LLC decreased its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN – Free Report) by 61.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,673 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,340 shares during the quarter. Essential Partners LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in VeriSign by 8.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,189,285,000 after buying an additional 321,737 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,169 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $976,700,000 after buying an additional 496,674 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 1.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,818,151 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $699,916,000 after buying an additional 38,800 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,491,035 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $362,247,000 after acquiring an additional 246,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,900,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.
VeriSign Price Performance
VRSN stock opened at $286.58 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $274.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.44. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a PE ratio of 31.08 and a beta of 0.71.
VeriSign Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.14%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have recently commented on VRSN. Citigroup boosted their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.75.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on VeriSign
Insider Buying and Selling
In other VeriSign news, EVP John Calys sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.56, for a total transaction of $140,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,752,855.72. This represents a 1.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $140,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,551 shares in the company, valued at $9,954,280. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 28,900 shares of company stock worth $7,872,034 over the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
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.
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