Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 24,761 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Vontobel Holding Ltd. cut its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 34.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,616 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 24,761 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $13,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in VeriSign during the second quarter worth approximately $300,249,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 75.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,329,640 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $586,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,510 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 477.1% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 791,271 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $200,880,000 after purchasing an additional 654,170 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in VeriSign by 161.4% in the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 860,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $248,388,000 after buying an additional 531,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in VeriSign by 71.3% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,202,278 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $307,098,000 after buying an additional 500,223 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $245.58 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.62 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $248.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $267.84. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $200.90 and a one year high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.The firm had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. VeriSign’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $281.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total value of $592,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,577 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,033.99. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.57, for a total transaction of $1,327,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 471,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,200,055.23. The trade was a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,839 shares of company stock worth $12,042,404. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.