BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $99.21 Million Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its VeriSign stake by 34.9% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 408,356 shares valued at about $99.2 million.
• VeriSign reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.34 beating estimates and revenue of $428.9 million topping forecasts; revenue also rose 6.6% year over year.
• Analysts remain cautiously bullish on the stock, with an average price target of $317.67 and a “Moderate Buy” consensus, while the company also pays a quarterly dividend yielding about 1.1%.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 34.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 408,356 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 105,596 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.45% of VeriSign worth $99,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,900,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 8.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,199,318,000 after buying an additional 861,065 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 394.1% in 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 buying an additional 440,289 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 13.8% in 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 buying an additional 426,492 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in VeriSign by 191.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 626,570 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $152,225,000 after buying an additional 411,728 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.06, for a total transaction of $134,489.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,316,832.12. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 company's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $9,538,548.90. This trade represents a 12.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,826 shares of company stock valued at $1,821,354. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. 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. boosted their price target on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $317.67.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $285.38 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $274.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $252.93. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48. The company has a market cap of $25.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.53 and a beta of 0.69.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted 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. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The business had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. VeriSign's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.80%.

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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