Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Invests $24.19 Million in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 99,579 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $24,193,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA owned approximately 0.11% of VeriSign at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRSN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in VeriSign during the second quarter valued at approximately $300,249,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 8.1% during 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 during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 32.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,003 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $894,414,000 after purchasing an additional 767,363 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 394.1% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 552,008 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $154,325,000 after purchasing an additional 440,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 1,035.6% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 420,830 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $117,651,000 after buying an additional 383,771 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

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

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

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 issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 36.78%.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total transaction of $115,426.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,028 shares in the company, valued at $9,277,689.84. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.20, for a total value of $1,241,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 416,099 shares in the company, valued at $103,275,771.80. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,490 shares of company stock worth $2,338,621. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.