Cibc World Market Inc. Invests $2.11 Million in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• CIBC World Markets opened a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter, buying 8,683 shares valued at about $2.11 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 92.9% of VeriSign shares. Several major firms, including Vanguard, State Street, and AQR, also increased their stakes.
• Analysts are broadly positive on the stock: recent target boosts from firms like Baird and Citi helped push the consensus rating to “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $317.67.

Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 8,683 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,110,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 8.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,199,318,000 after buying an additional 861,065 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 8.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,189,285,000 after buying an additional 321,737 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $985,063,000 after buying an additional 426,492 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $312,900,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,049,235 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $293,335,000 after acquiring an additional 44,743 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research 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 data from MarketBeat, VeriSign presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $317.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,538,548.90. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.45, for a total transaction of $146,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,051 shares in the company, valued at $10,872,615.95. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 9,796 shares of company stock valued at $2,754,418 over the last 90 days. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $283.89 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $281.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.03. The stock has a market cap of $25.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37 and a beta of 0.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.86 and a twelve month high of $312.48.

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 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 firm had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $424.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $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 9.49 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.80%.

About VeriSign

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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