Danske Bank A S Grows Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Danske Bank A/S increased its stake in VeriSign by 23.5% in Q4 to 64,246 shares (~$15.6M), and institutional investors now own about 92.9% of the company.
• VeriSign topped Q1 estimates with EPS of $2.34 (vs. $2.30) and revenue of $428.9M (+6.6% y/y), and several analysts raised targets—MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $317.67.
• Insiders have sold 7,490 shares (~$1.98M) in the past 90 days, including EVP Danny McPherson’s sale of 5,000 shares, leaving insiders with just 0.56% ownership; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share (1.2% yield).

Danske Bank A S boosted its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 23.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,246 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,220 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S owned about 0.07% of VeriSign worth $15,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in VeriSign by 25.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 12.3% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 104.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,047,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in VeriSign by 122.1% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 2.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,373,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,538,548.90. This trade represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.06, for a total value of $134,489.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,202 shares in the company, valued at $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 have sold 7,490 shares of company stock worth $1,981,790 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN stock opened at $272.44 on Monday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $310.60. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $250.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $246.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10 and a beta of 0.68.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.80%.

VeriSign 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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