Cwm LLC Has $23.80 Million Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Cwm LLC lifted its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 58.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,123 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 31,436 shares during the period. Cwm LLC owned about 0.09% of VeriSign worth $23,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter worth about $300,249,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 75.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,329,640 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $586,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,510 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in VeriSign by 477.1% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 791,271 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $200,880,000 after purchasing an additional 654,170 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in VeriSign by 161.4% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 860,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $248,388,000 after purchasing an additional 531,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in VeriSign by 71.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,202,278 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $307,098,000 after buying an additional 500,223 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total value of $592,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,577 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,033.99. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.57, for a total transaction of $1,327,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 471,439 shares in the company, valued at $125,200,055.23. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 47,839 shares of company stock valued at $12,042,404 over the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $246.32 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $247.35 and a 200-day moving average of $267.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.93 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VRSN. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $281.67.

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.