E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Acquires New Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,985 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $725,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $640,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 1,163.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 77,039 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $18,717,000 after purchasing an additional 70,943 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 152.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 308,091 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $75,922,000 after purchasing an additional 186,029 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 10,138 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,426,000 after purchasing an additional 2,948 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 19,587 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,759,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total transaction of $115,426.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,277,689.84. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.20, for a total transaction of $1,241,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 416,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,275,771.80. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 9,490 shares of company stock worth $2,338,621 in the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Stock Up 4.4%

VRSN opened at $251.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.57 and a beta of 0.76. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $310.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $249.33.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a boost from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.