Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Acquires 35,981 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 242,794 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 35,981 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.26% of VeriSign worth $58,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted 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 valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 104.5% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 122.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,373,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $270.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $248.70 and a 200-day moving average of $246.72. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.08, for a total transaction of $124,041.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,501,044.20. This trade represents a 1.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 2,490 shares of company stock worth $626,690 in the last 90 days. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Company 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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