Vanguard Group Inc. Has $3.20 Billion Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 861,065 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of VeriSign worth $3,199,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 112.5% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. North Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 239.0% during the third quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 139 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 51.5% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in VeriSign by 25.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total value of $496,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,812,499.72. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.24, for a total transaction of $36,393.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,213,122.52. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 23,662 shares of company stock worth $5,799,697 in the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on VRSN. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.00.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $218.55 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $241.22 and its 200-day moving average is $255.87. The company has a market capitalization of $20.04 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81 and a beta of 0.75. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.06). VeriSign had a net margin of 49.84% and a negative return on equity of 40.40%. The business had revenue of $425.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.04 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This is an increase from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.96%.

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.