Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 410,773 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,661 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.45% of VeriSign worth $102,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Perpetual Ltd increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 159.6% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,223,000 after acquiring an additional 5,626 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its position in VeriSign by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 146,100 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $35,495,000 after purchasing an additional 22,020 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 64,246 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $15,609,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 49,688 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,179,000 after purchasing an additional 11,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 174,140 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $41,886,000 after purchasing an additional 3,691 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
VRSN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, VeriSign presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $328.75.
View Our Latest Research Report on VRSN
VeriSign Stock Performance
VRSN opened at $290.92 on Thursday. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48. The company has a market capitalization of $26.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.55 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $275.26 and a 200-day moving average of $260.17.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The company had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $433.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.21 earnings per share. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
VeriSign Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.14%.
Key VeriSign News
Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded VeriSign to “Strong Buy” from “Hold,” citing growing optimism about the company’s earnings prospects. The upgrade gives investors a fresh bullish signal and may be the main catalyst supporting the stock. VeriSign Upgraded to Strong Buy
- Positive Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis upgraded the stock, arguing that the market may be overlooking aspects of VeriSign’s business and post-earnings outlook. The company’s recurring domain-registry revenue, strong margins and earnings beat provide support for the bullish view. VeriSign Analysis and Upgrade
- Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst targets remain above the trading range, with a reported consensus target of $328.75 and several firms maintaining Buy or Outperform ratings. This suggests potential upside, although the stock is already near its 52-week high.
- Neutral Sentiment: VeriSign outperformed several competitors during a broadly weaker session, indicating relative investor resilience, though the report did not identify a new fundamental catalyst. VeriSign Outperforms Competitors
- Negative Sentiment: CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares, while EVPs John Calys and Thomas Indelicarto each sold 500 shares. The transactions reduced their individual holdings modestly, but the CEO and EVP sales were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as a bearish signal. VeriSign SEC Insider Sale Filing
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 439,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total transaction of $141,770.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at $10,363,670.54. This represents a 1.35% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,900 shares of company stock worth $7,872,034. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.
About VeriSign
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
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