Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Boosts Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 54.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 102,429 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,040 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $25,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 159.6% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 5,626 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc raised its stake in VeriSign by 14.2% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 85,503 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $23,904,000 after buying an additional 10,637 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in VeriSign in the third quarter worth about $26,647,000. Sienna Gestion purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the third quarter worth about $5,139,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 152.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 308,091 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $75,922,000 after buying an additional 186,029 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.94, for a total transaction of $828,102.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 426,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,935,320.66. This trade represents a 0.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 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 owned 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 23,746 shares of company stock worth $6,451,479 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $256.43 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year high of $312.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $279.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $256.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 0.71.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The business had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.80%.

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.