J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Reduces Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG cut its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 82.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,642 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,897 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 8.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 861,065 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 32.9% during the second 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. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 394.1% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 552,008 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $154,325,000 after purchasing an additional 440,289 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 1,035.6% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 420,830 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $117,651,000 after purchasing an additional 383,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in VeriSign by 174.8% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 576,395 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $161,143,000 after buying an additional 366,664 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $259.85 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $310.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.49 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $235.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.15.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $425.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.04 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. This is a positive change from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 332 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total transaction of $79,885.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,551,651.52. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 value of $496,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,490 shares of company stock valued at $2,338,621. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.