NS Partners Ltd grew its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,529 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 919 shares during the period. VeriSign accounts for 1.2% of NS Partners Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. NS Partners Ltd owned 0.11% of VeriSign worth $26,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in VeriSign by 68.7% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 237,204 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $60,219,000 after acquiring an additional 96,621 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in VeriSign by 11.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 146,485 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $37,188,000 after acquiring an additional 14,881 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in VeriSign in the first quarter worth approximately $45,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in VeriSign in the first quarter worth approximately $219,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in VeriSign by 19.8% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 689,780 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $175,114,000 after acquiring an additional 113,804 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insider Activity at VeriSign
In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.82, for a total value of $1,424,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 526,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $150,035,201.04. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,505 shares of company stock worth $11,130,549. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
VeriSign Price Performance
Shares of VRSN stock traded down $2.10 on Friday, hitting $271.89. 613,115 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,081,412. The firm has a market cap of $25.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $172.49 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $259.73.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The company's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS.
VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.
VeriSign Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 36.75%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have weighed in on VRSN. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st.
Read Our Latest Report on VRSN
VeriSign Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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