VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by Stevens Capital Management LP

Stevens Capital Management LP cut its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 42.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,977 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,922 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,199,318,000 after acquiring an additional 861,065 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 321,737 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 13.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,523,495 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $985,063,000 after purchasing an additional 426,492 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 4.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,049,235 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $293,335,000 after purchasing an additional 44,743 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in VeriSign by 12.3% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 965,600 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $269,953,000 after purchasing an additional 105,532 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total transaction of $1,355,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,538,548.90. This trade represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.06, for a total value of $134,489.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,316,832.12. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,992 shares of company stock worth $1,857,748. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on VRSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.67.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $275.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.47 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $252.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.87. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.80%.

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.