VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by Forsta AP Fonden

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden has reduced its stake in VeriSign by 62.6%, owning 14,400 shares valued at approximately $3.66 million after selling 24,100 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Several other institutional investors have increased their holdings in VeriSign, with Rakuten Securities Inc. dramatically boosting its stake by 13,000%, now owning 131 shares worth $33,000.
• VeriSign announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $3.08 with a yield of 1.2%, and initiated a $1.11 billion stock repurchase program.

Forsta AP Fonden lessened its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 62.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,400 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 24,100 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in VeriSign were worth $3,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 13,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

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

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $267.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $281.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.49. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.49 and a 1-year high of $310.60. The company has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91 and a beta of 0.78.

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. The firm had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%. VeriSign's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign's payout ratio is currently 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.

VeriSign 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.

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