Tredje AP fonden Has $2.11 Million Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Tredje AP fonden cut its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 52.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,538 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 8,426 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 226 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 0.8% in the third quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,779 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 11.6% in the third quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 452 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 51.5% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.00.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $215.91 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $240.15 and its 200-day moving average is $255.02. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The company has a market capitalization of $19.80 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51 and a beta of 0.75.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $425.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.04 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.84% and a negative return on equity of 40.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.78%.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,609 shares in the company, valued at $7,904,462.63. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.59, for a total value of $1,222,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 434,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,176,274.41. This represents a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 23,662 shares of company stock worth $5,799,697 over the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is 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.