VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Bought by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank raised its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 244,840 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,560 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $60,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of VRSN. Perpetual Ltd increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 5,626 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its position in VeriSign by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 146,100 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,495,000 after purchasing an additional 22,020 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 11,249 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in VeriSign by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 174,140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $41,886,000 after purchasing an additional 3,691 shares during the period. Finally, Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,636,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $266.15 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $278.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $258.82. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year high of $312.48. The company has a market cap of $24.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.41 and a beta of 0.71.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The company had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on VRSN. Wedbush began coverage on shares of VeriSign in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $318.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.25.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 439,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total transaction of $141,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,300 shares of company stock valued at $7,125,942. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

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.