Groupama Asset Managment Makes New Investment in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,582 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,561,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Research Partners LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the third quarter worth approximately $427,000. Cambria Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the third quarter valued at approximately $340,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 8.8% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,695 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $753,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,647,000. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% during the third quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 105,473 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $29,487,000 after acquiring an additional 2,590 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $239.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.20 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50 day moving average is $235.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.40. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.86 and a twelve month high of $310.60.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. This is an increase from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 36.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.20, for a total value of $1,241,000.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,028 shares in the company, valued at $9,277,689.84. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,490 shares of company stock valued at $2,338,621. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VRSN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.