ING Groep NV Has $18.17 Million Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV increased its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. by 93.2%, owning approximately 71,588 shares valued at $18.17 million by the end of the quarter.
• VeriSign recently reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.1%.
• The company authorized a $1.11 billion stock buyback plan, allowing the reacquisition of up to 4.1% of its shares, signaling management's belief in the stock's undervaluation.

ING Groep NV increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 93.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,588 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,532 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV owned approximately 0.08% of VeriSign worth $18,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 34,326.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 697,127 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $176,980,000 after buying an additional 695,102 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in VeriSign by 268.8% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 692,498 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $143,319,000 after buying an additional 504,748 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its position in VeriSign by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,746,661,000 after acquiring an additional 455,844 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,097,129 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $227,062,000 after purchasing an additional 403,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 20.9% during 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. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSN traded up $0.77 on Thursday, hitting $273.99. The company had a trading volume of 952,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,062,801. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $172.49 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The company has a market capitalization of $25.59 billion, a PE ratio of 32.70 and a beta of 0.78. The company's fifty day moving average price is $281.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $258.50.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%. The business had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $410.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is 36.75%.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.35, for a total transaction of $562,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 515,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $145,112,452.20. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.50, for a total transaction of $135,019.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,043,726. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,505 shares of company stock valued at $11,130,549. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Company Profile

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.