Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 3,067 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,668 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,067 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $9,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 8.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,199,318,000 after acquiring an additional 861,065 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 8.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,189,285,000 after acquiring an additional 321,737 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 13.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,523,495 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $985,063,000 after acquiring an additional 426,492 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 4.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,049,235 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $293,335,000 after acquiring an additional 44,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 1.7% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 675,608 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $188,880,000 after acquiring an additional 11,440 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $305.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.80 and a beta of 0.68. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $267.20 and a 200 day moving average of $250.49.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $428.90 million during 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%. VeriSign’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 35.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. The trade was a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total transaction of $115,426.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,028 shares in the company, valued at $9,277,689.84. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 6,826 shares of company stock worth $1,821,354 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.