Mill Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 66,941 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $16,840,000. VeriSign makes up 1.1% of Mill Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Mill Capital Management LLC owned about 0.07% of VeriSign at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Danske Bank A S lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 64,246 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $15,609,000 after buying an additional 12,220 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 146,100 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $35,495,000 after acquiring an additional 22,020 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.2% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 3,691 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,352 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,973,000 after acquiring an additional 5,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 49,688 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,179,000 after acquiring an additional 11,249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
VRSN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Wedbush lifted 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. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $328.75.
View Our Latest Stock Report on VeriSign
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, EVP John Calys sold 500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.56, for a total transaction of $140,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,752,855.72. This trade represents a 1.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.35, for a total value of $146,175.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 34,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,100,984.85. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 a total of 33,200 shares of company stock valued at $9,142,891 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.
VeriSign Stock Down 1.0%
VRSN stock opened at $284.24 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $273.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $263.57. The company has a market capitalization of $25.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.83 and a beta of 0.70. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 EPS for the current year.
VeriSign Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's payout ratio is presently 35.14%.
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.
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