Ninety One UK Ltd Cuts Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd trimmed its stake in VeriSign by 1.9% in Q4, selling 39,546 shares and now holding 2,070,523 shares (about 2.23% of VeriSign) valued at roughly $503.0 million.
• Large institutions largely added to positions—Vanguard, State Street and AQR boosted holdings—and institutional investors now own about 92.9% of VeriSign's stock.
• VeriSign reported Q results with EPS of $2.23 (missed estimates by $0.06) and revenue of $425.3M (+7.6% YoY); the company has a market cap of ~$24.97B, a P/E of 31.11, recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.81 (annualized $3.24, ~1.2% yield), and holds a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" (target ~$297).

Ninety One UK Ltd cut its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,070,523 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 39,546 shares during the quarter. VeriSign comprises about 1.1% of Ninety One UK Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Ninety One UK Ltd owned 2.23% of VeriSign worth $503,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in VeriSign by 8.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,199,318,000 after purchasing an additional 861,065 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in VeriSign by 8.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,189,285,000 after purchasing an additional 321,737 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 13.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,523,495 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $985,063,000 after purchasing an additional 426,492 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in VeriSign by 4.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,049,235 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $293,335,000 after purchasing an additional 44,743 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in VeriSign by 12.3% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 965,600 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $269,953,000 after purchasing an additional 105,532 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $274.05 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $24.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.11 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $241.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.00.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $425.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.04 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.40% and a net margin of 49.84%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from VeriSign's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is 36.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.08, for a total value of $124,041.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,501,044.20. This trade represents a 1.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 2,490 shares of company stock valued at $626,690 in the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on VRSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on VeriSign from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $297.00.

VeriSign 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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