Rhumbline Advisers Has $89 Million Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 318,338 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,471 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.34% of VeriSign worth $88,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 112.5% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. North Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 239.0% during the 3rd quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 139 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VRSN. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total value of $496,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 414,099 shares in the company, valued at $102,812,499.72. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.24, for a total value of $36,393.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,213,122.52. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,662 shares of company stock valued at $7,542,047. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $218.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $243.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $257.65. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $310.60.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This is a positive change from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.96%.

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.