CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. Buys Shares of 95,314 VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 95,314 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $26,647,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. owned about 0.10% of VeriSign as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 8.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,199,318,000 after purchasing an additional 861,065 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,189,285,000 after purchasing an additional 321,737 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 13.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,523,495 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $985,063,000 after purchasing an additional 426,492 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in VeriSign by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,049,235 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $293,335,000 after purchasing an additional 44,743 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at $300,249,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total value of $79,885.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,696 shares in the company, valued at $9,551,651.52. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total value of $496,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,812,499.72. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 9,490 shares of company stock valued at $2,338,621 in the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.00.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.3%

VRSN opened at $238.89 on Thursday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $310.60. The company has a market capitalization of $21.91 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.47.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.78%.

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.