Vanguard Group Inc. Has $2.76 Billion Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its VeriSign stake by 0.8% in Q4 to 11,352,312 shares, representing about 12.25% of the company valued at $2.758 billion.
• VeriSign beat the quarter's estimates with EPS of $2.34 (vs. $2.30) and revenue of $428.9M (up 6.6% YoY), and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share (annualized $3.24, yield 1.2%; ex-dividend May 19, payable May 27).
• Brokerages have recently lifted targets and ratings, leaving VeriSign with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $317.67.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,352,312 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 91,398 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.25% of VeriSign worth $2,758,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 112.5% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 429.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.06, for a total transaction of $134,489.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,202 shares in the company, valued at $10,316,832.12. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,490 shares of company stock worth $626,690. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $270.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 0.70. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.86 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $248.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.72.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on VRSN. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $317.67.

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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