VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Acquired by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,199 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,273 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $15,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 8.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,199,318,000 after purchasing an additional 861,065 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 8.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,189,285,000 after purchasing an additional 321,737 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 13.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,523,495 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $985,063,000 after purchasing an additional 426,492 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 4.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,049,235 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $293,335,000 after purchasing an additional 44,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in VeriSign by 1.7% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 675,608 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $188,880,000 after acquiring an additional 11,440 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $288.21 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $26.23 billion, a PE ratio of 31.85 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $254.61 and a 200-day moving average of $247.08.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 35.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VRSN shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.06, for a total value of $134,489.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,202 shares in the company, valued at $10,316,832.12. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,538,548.90. This trade represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,992 shares of company stock worth $1,857,748. 0.56% of the stock is currently 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.