Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA Buys New Shares in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA bought a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,043 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $507,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 159.6% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after buying an additional 5,626 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 146,100 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,495,000 after buying an additional 22,020 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S increased its holdings in VeriSign by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 64,246 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $15,609,000 after buying an additional 12,220 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 49,688 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,179,000 after buying an additional 11,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in VeriSign by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 174,140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $41,886,000 after acquiring an additional 3,691 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Trading Up 2.3%

VRSN opened at $281.15 on Wednesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $275.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $259.86. The stock has a market cap of $25.39 billion, a PE ratio of 30.49 and a beta of 0.71.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The firm had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 35.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on VRSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, VeriSign currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.75.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total transaction of $141,770.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at $10,363,670.54. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $981,651.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 439,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,690,172.33. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,100 shares of company stock worth $6,803,294. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About VeriSign

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.