ABN Amro Investment Solutions Has $1.26 Million Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its VeriSign stake by 305% in the fourth quarter, ending with 5,168 shares valued at about $1.26 million.
• VeriSign reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.34 per share on revenue of $428.9 million, with revenue up 6.6% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $317.67.

ABN Amro Investment Solutions raised its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 305.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,168 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,892 shares during the quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions' holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VeriSign stock opened at $310.00 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $312.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $268.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $250.91. The firm has a market cap of $28.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.25 and a beta of 0.68.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.06, for a total transaction of $134,489.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,316,832.12. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the sale, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,826 shares of company stock valued at $1,821,354. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

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.

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