VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Stock Position Boosted by Rothschild Investment LLC

Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 1,148.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,460 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,263 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter valued at approximately $300,249,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in VeriSign by 8.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 32.9% during the 2nd 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. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 161.4% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 860,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $248,388,000 after purchasing an additional 531,041 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 394.1% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 552,008 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $154,325,000 after buying an additional 440,289 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total value of $592,175.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,577 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,033.99. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.05, for a total transaction of $1,250,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 442,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,763,648.30. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,670 shares of company stock worth $11,986,654. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock opened at $248.94 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.37 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $246.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $264.90. The company has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.01 and a beta of 0.77.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VRSN. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research lowered shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.00.

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.