VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Stock Holdings Decreased by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 77,111 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 16,086 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $18,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 480,465 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $116,729,000 after purchasing an additional 85,770 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $4,104,000. Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 85,844 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $20,856,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $867,000. Finally, Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 11,612 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,821,000 after buying an additional 4,762 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $283.89 on Wednesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year high of $312.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $281.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $255.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.83 billion, a PE ratio of 31.37 and a beta of 0.69.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. VeriSign’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 35.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target 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 raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.45, for a total transaction of $146,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,872,615.95. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 439,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,690,172.33. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 9,796 shares of company stock valued at $2,754,418 in the last ninety days. Company 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.