MUFG Securities EMEA plc Boosts Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 112.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,420 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,811 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in VeriSign by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 408,356 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $99,210,000 after acquiring an additional 105,596 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $312,900,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,357,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,660 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $889,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.67.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $297.08 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $278.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $253.92. The company has a market cap of $27.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.83 and a beta of 0.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.45, for a total transaction of $146,725.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,872,615.95. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total transaction of $1,355,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. The trade was a 12.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,128 shares of company stock worth $2,834,304. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

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.