Gotham Asset Management LLC Buys 28,823 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 38.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,712 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 28,823 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned 0.11% of VeriSign worth $29,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 increased its holdings in VeriSign by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,932,243 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,135,632,000 after acquiring an additional 73,931 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,523,495 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $985,063,000 after purchasing an additional 426,492 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $300,249,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 965,600 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $269,953,000 after purchasing an additional 105,532 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 332 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total value of $79,885.84. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total transaction of $496,560.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,812,499.72. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 11,490 shares of company stock valued at $2,827,121 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.00.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $241.26 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $22.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38 and a beta of 0.76.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This is an increase 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 yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 36.78%.

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.