VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Bought by PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab

PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,065 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $8,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Groupe la Francaise increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.8% in the first quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,413 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 872 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, One Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total transaction of $141,770.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 439,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,700 shares of company stock worth $8,996,716. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VRSN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $328.75.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $294.56 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.60 billion, a PE ratio of 31.95 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $274.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $262.29.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.20% and a net margin of 49.76%.The company had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is 35.14%.

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.