Berkshire Hathaway Inc Acquires Shares of 8,989,880 VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,989,880 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,261,494,000. VeriSign comprises approximately 0.8% of Berkshire Hathaway Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Berkshire Hathaway Inc owned approximately 9.96% of VeriSign as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,116,154,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $312,900,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $172,641,000. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP acquired a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth approximately $149,686,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in VeriSign during the second quarter worth approximately $145,362,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.35, for a total value of $146,175.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 34,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,100,984.85. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.16, for a total transaction of $960,828.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 398,089 shares in the company, valued at $115,907,593.24. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 39,800 shares of company stock worth $11,020,624 over the last 90 days. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $292.99 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $273.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $265.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.46 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78 and a beta of 0.70. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.20% and a net margin of 49.76%.The company had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $433.19 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 35.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $328.75.

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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