VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Acquired by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 4.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 665,087 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,928 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $167,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new position in VeriSign during the second quarter worth approximately $2,261,494,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,116,154,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,189,285,000 after buying an additional 321,737 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,169 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $976,700,000 after buying an additional 496,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,818,151 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $699,916,000 after buying an additional 38,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $288.37 on Wednesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48. The company has a market capitalization of $26.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $276.70 and a 200-day moving average of $267.69.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush lifted their target price on VeriSign from $324.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $333.00.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total value of $878,097.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 422,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,513,229.51. This represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 36,000 shares of company stock worth $9,892,248 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

About VeriSign

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.