KBC Group NV Has $15.01 Million Stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,108 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,581 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned 0.06% of VeriSign worth $15,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 34.1% in the first quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 40,500 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,282,000 after buying an additional 10,300 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 3.7% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 24,806 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,224,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares in the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 404.8% during the first quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 96,636 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $24,534,000 after acquiring an additional 77,494 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in VeriSign by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 76,143 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $19,330,000 after acquiring an additional 15,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.3%

VRSN traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $282.88. 439,131 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 752,289. The stock has a market cap of $26.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.58 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.49 and a 1-year high of $290.38. The stock's 50-day moving average is $279.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $245.10.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.10. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.23% and a negative return on equity of 41.37%. The business had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total value of $170,274.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,059,955.65. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.87, for a total value of $1,127,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 531,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at $149,890,573.64. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,503 shares of company stock valued at $7,158,975. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday.

About VeriSign

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.