Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,818 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,357 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $10,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,506 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,461 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,671,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 406 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 573 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
VRSN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th.
View Our Latest Research Report on VRSN
Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign
In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 526,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,035,201.04. This trade represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 47,006 shares of company stock valued at $13,116,714. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.
VeriSign Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded up $3.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $269.89. 1,296,375 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,200,774. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.62 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The company has a market cap of $25.21 billion, a PE ratio of 32.21 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $280.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $261.32.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%. The company's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share.
VeriSign Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.75%.
VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information services provider to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
About VeriSign
(
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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