Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Boosts Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• The Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. by 39.2% during Q1, totaling 51,129 shares worth approximately $12.98 million.
• VeriSign's CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares at an average price of $284.82, while insiders have sold a total of 47,006 shares in the last 90 days, valued at over $13 million.
• VeriSign recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share and a share buyback program authorizing up to $1.11 billion in repurchases, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 39.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,129 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,400 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund owned 0.05% of VeriSign worth $12,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 35.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. Cache Advisors LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $685,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc increased its stake in VeriSign by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,746,661,000 after purchasing an additional 455,844 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 358.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 70,017 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,775,000 after purchasing an additional 54,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in VeriSign in the first quarter valued at $329,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VeriSign stock traded up $3.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $269.89. 1,296,375 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,247,622. The company's fifty day moving average is $280.49 and its 200-day moving average is $261.99. The firm has a market cap of $25.21 billion, a PE ratio of 32.21 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.62 and a 52 week high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The company had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $410.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.50, for a total transaction of $132,514.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,724,871.50. This represents a 1.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.45, for a total transaction of $532,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at $135,029,399.40. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,006 shares of company stock valued at $13,116,714 in the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.