Andra AP fonden Acquires 4,900 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Andra AP fonden increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 123,200 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,900 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden owned 0.13% of VeriSign worth $34,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 112.5% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. North Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 239.0% in the 3rd quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 139 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total transaction of $496,560.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,812,499.72. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 166 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.24, for a total value of $36,393.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,213,122.52. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,662 shares of company stock worth $5,799,697. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $225.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $238.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $253.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $425.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.04 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.40% and a net margin of 49.84%.The business’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This is a positive change from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.00.

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.