13,191 Shares in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Purchased by North Dakota State Investment Board

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board opened a new position in VeriSign, buying 13,191 shares worth about $3.2 million in the fourth quarter.
• VeriSign reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.34 versus estimates of $2.30 and revenue of $428.9 million, up 6.6% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, while analysts remain generally constructive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $317.67.

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 13,191 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,205,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in VeriSign by 25.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 872 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,779 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.06, for a total value of $134,489.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,316,832.12. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total transaction of $1,355,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,538,548.90. The trade was a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,826 shares of company stock valued at $1,821,354. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $305.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $27.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.74 and a beta of 0.68. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $310.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.06.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The firm's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is 35.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on VRSN. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $317.67.

VeriSign 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.

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