Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension Invests $23.24 Million in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in VeriSign, buying 95,671 shares valued at about $23.24 million, or roughly 0.10% of the company.
• 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 positive, with an average price target of $317.67 and a Moderate Buy rating.

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 95,671 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $23,243,000. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension owned approximately 0.10% of VeriSign as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRSN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,199,318,000 after purchasing an additional 861,065 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 394.1% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 552,008 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $154,325,000 after purchasing an additional 440,289 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 13.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,523,495 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $985,063,000 after purchasing an additional 426,492 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 191.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 626,570 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $152,225,000 after purchasing an additional 411,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 1,035.6% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 420,830 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $117,651,000 after buying an additional 383,771 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total transaction of $1,355,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.06, for a total value of $134,489.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,316,832.12. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 6,826 shares of company stock worth $1,821,354 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $297.57 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $262.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $248.59. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The company has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a PE ratio of 32.88 and a beta of 0.68.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The business had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $424.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. 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 presently 35.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "neutral" 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 report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $317.67.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRSN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.