Ninety One North America Inc. Has $52.94 Million Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Ninety One North America Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 208,519 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 15,587 shares during the period. VeriSign makes up 3.6% of Ninety One North America Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Ninety One North America Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of VeriSign worth $52,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 455,844 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in VeriSign by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,701,154 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $352,071,000 after acquiring an additional 35,326 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,327,130 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $273,853,000 after purchasing an additional 229,311 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in VeriSign by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,284,759 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $265,894,000 after purchasing an additional 116,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,097,129 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $227,062,000 after purchasing an additional 403,760 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $281.88 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $280.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $247.05. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $172.49 and a 1 year high of $290.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46 and a beta of 0.78.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.10. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 41.37% and a net margin of 50.23%. The company had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.92 EPS. VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on VRSN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 4,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.87, for a total value of $1,127,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 531,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at $149,890,573.64. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.17, for a total transaction of $145,375.17. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,104,805.90. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,503 shares of company stock worth $7,158,975 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.

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