ING Groep NV Sells 12,958 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

ING Groep NV reduced its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 34.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,168 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 12,958 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $7,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategy Asset Managers LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter valued at approximately $654,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 357,611 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $99,977,000 after purchasing an additional 36,829 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in VeriSign by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,719 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,435 shares during the period. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 68,706 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,208,000 after buying an additional 13,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at $17,800,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,812,499.72. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 166 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction 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 owned 42,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,213,122.52. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 30,662 shares of company stock valued at $7,542,047 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.1%

VRSN stock opened at $218.15 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $243.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $257.65. The company has a market cap of $20.00 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76 and a beta of 0.75.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its 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). The firm had revenue of $425.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.04 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.84% and a negative return on equity of 40.40%. VeriSign’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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 given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is an increase from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.