Swedbank AB Sells 4,092 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Swedbank AB reduced its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,926 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,092 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $17,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at about $641,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 118.3% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 220,285 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $55,924,000 after buying an additional 119,368 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the first quarter valued at approximately $508,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth $351,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in VeriSign by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 13,362 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,844,000 after acquiring an additional 2,351 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research raised VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $281.67.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $246.32 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $201.93 and a one year high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $22.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.71 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $247.35 and its 200-day moving average is $267.46.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.The business had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. VeriSign’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.25, for a total value of $488,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 423,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,341,930.75. The trade was a 0.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.07, for a total transaction of $125,285.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,904,462.63. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,839 shares of company stock worth $12,042,404. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.