Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 26,661 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 410,773 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,661 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $102,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in VeriSign by 8.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,189,285,000 after buying an additional 321,737 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,169 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $976,700,000 after buying an additional 496,674 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,491,035 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $362,247,000 after buying an additional 246,887 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $312,900,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,049,235 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $293,335,000 after acquiring an additional 44,743 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

More VeriSign News

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded VeriSign to “Strong Buy” from “Hold,” citing growing optimism about the company’s earnings prospects. The upgrade gives investors a fresh bullish signal and may be the main catalyst supporting the stock. VeriSign Upgraded to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis upgraded the stock, arguing that the market may be overlooking aspects of VeriSign’s business and post-earnings outlook. The company’s recurring domain-registry revenue, strong margins and earnings beat provide support for the bullish view. VeriSign Analysis and Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst targets remain above the trading range, with a reported consensus target of $328.75 and several firms maintaining Buy or Outperform ratings. This suggests potential upside, although the stock is already near its 52-week high.
• Neutral Sentiment: VeriSign outperformed several competitors during a broadly weaker session, indicating relative investor resilience, though the report did not identify a new fundamental catalyst. VeriSign Outperforms Competitors
• Negative Sentiment: CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares, while EVPs John Calys and Thomas Indelicarto each sold 500 shares. The transactions reduced their individual holdings modestly, but the CEO and EVP sales were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as a bearish signal. VeriSign SEC Insider Sale Filing

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total value of $141,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. This represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $981,651.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 439,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,690,172.33. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 28,900 shares of company stock valued at $7,872,034 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

VeriSign Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $290.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.27 billion, a PE ratio of 31.55 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $275.26 and its 200 day moving average is $260.17. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

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.