VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Position Cut by Neuberger Berman Group LLC

Neuberger Berman Group LLC reduced its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 22,645 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 6,399 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $6,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth $300,249,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 8.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,199,318,000 after purchasing an additional 861,065 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 32.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,003 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $894,414,000 after purchasing an additional 767,363 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 394.1% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 552,008 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $154,325,000 after purchasing an additional 440,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 496.3% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 352,481 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $101,797,000 after purchasing an additional 293,373 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.59, for a total transaction of $1,222,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 434,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,176,274.41. This represents a 1.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.07, for a total value of $125,285.07. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,904,462.63. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 23,659 shares of company stock worth $5,788,560 in the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.00.

VeriSign Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $243.78 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The stock has a market cap of $22.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $236.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $252.26.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.78%.

VeriSign 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.