Pensionfund Sabic Takes Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Pensionfund Sabic bought a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,700 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $899,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 112.5% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. North Capital Inc. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 239.0% in the 3rd quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 139 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.00.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total value 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. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $103,275,771.80. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,490 shares of company stock worth $2,338,621 in the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $251.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a PE ratio of 28.57 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $235.60 and a 200-day moving average of $249.33. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $310.60.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. This is a positive change from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.78%.

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.