ING Groep NV Sells 12,958 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

ING Groep NV decreased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,168 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 12,958 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $7,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.1% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 318,338 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $88,998,000 after buying an additional 6,471 shares during the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,403,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,890,000. Profund Advisors LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 4,691 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,078 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,054,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 434,099 shares in the company, valued at $106,176,274.41. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 30,662 shares of company stock valued at $7,542,047 in the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $218.15 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $243.47 and a 200-day moving average of $257.65. The company has a market capitalization of $20.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76 and a beta of 0.75. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its 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). The company had revenue of $425.30 million during 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 business’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on VRSN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. 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. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.00.

VeriSign Company 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.