Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Acquires 45,511 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Diamond Hill Capital Management increased its VeriSign stake by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, buying 45,511 additional shares to bring its total holdings to 312,661 shares worth about $75.96 million.
• VeriSign’s recent quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $2.34 versus the $2.30 estimate and revenue of $428.9 million, up 6.6% year over year.
• Analysts have turned more constructive on the stock, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $317.67; VeriSign also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 312,661 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 45,511 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of VeriSign worth $75,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign in the third quarter worth $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 429.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 51.5% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 25.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

VeriSign Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $305.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $27.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.80 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $267.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.49. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $310.60.

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 (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 company 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 earned $2.10 earnings per share. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given 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 1.1%. VeriSign's payout ratio is currently 35.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were 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 $9,538,548.90. The trade was a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total transaction of $115,426.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,028 shares in the company, valued at $9,277,689.84. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 6,826 shares of company stock worth $1,821,354 in the last quarter. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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