Gotham Asset Management LLC Acquires 94,909 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 90.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 199,621 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 94,909 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned 0.22% of VeriSign worth $48,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Norges Bank bought a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $312,900,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,199,318,000 after purchasing an additional 861,065 shares in the last quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $149,686,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,169 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $976,700,000 after purchasing an additional 496,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in VeriSign by 191.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 626,570 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $152,225,000 after purchasing an additional 411,728 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Robert W. Baird increased their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total value of $141,770.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at $10,363,670.54. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 VeriSign stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 16,896 shares of company stock worth $4,739,271 in the last 90 days. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VeriSign stock opened at $264.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $24.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.27 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $283.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $256.08. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 company earned $2.10 EPS. On average, analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.80%.

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.