VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Stock Holdings Boosted by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 8.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 170,449 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,899 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $47,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VRSN. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 112.5% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. North Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 239.0% in the 3rd quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 139 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 51.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VeriSign stock opened at $227.94 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.86 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $20.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.87 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $237.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $253.35.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. This is an increase from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 36.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.24, for a total value of $36,393.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,213,122.52. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total transaction of $496,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,812,499.72. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 23,662 shares of company stock valued at $5,799,697 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.84% 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.