16,114 Shares in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Acquired by OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 16,114 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,054,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Danske Bank A S boosted its stake in VeriSign by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 64,246 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $15,609,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 174,140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $41,886,000 after buying an additional 3,691 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 208.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,385 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,324,000 after buying an additional 9,046 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,352 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,973,000 after buying an additional 5,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $13,636,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $293.75 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $273.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $265.33. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.53 billion, a PE ratio of 31.86 and a beta of 0.70.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on VRSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $328.75.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.85, for a total value of $916,905.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 401,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,525,933.65. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John Calys sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.56, for a total transaction of $140,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,752,855.72. The trade was a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,500 shares of company stock valued at $10,059,796. 0.56% 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.