Groupama Asset Managment Makes New Investment in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 5,582 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,561,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategy Asset Managers LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the third quarter worth about $654,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 357,611 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $99,977,000 after purchasing an additional 36,829 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,719 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,749,000 after buying an additional 2,435 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter valued at $17,800,000. Finally, Abacus FCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 68,706 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,208,000 after purchasing an additional 13,837 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total transaction of $79,885.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,551,651.52. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total transaction of $496,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,812,499.72. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,490 shares of company stock worth $2,338,621. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $239.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20 and a beta of 0.76. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year high of $310.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.40.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.06). VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.40% and a net margin of 49.84%.The firm had revenue of $425.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This is a boost from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is 36.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.00.

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.