VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 174,140 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,691 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $41,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategy Asset Managers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter valued at approximately $654,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 11.5% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 357,611 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $99,977,000 after purchasing an additional 36,829 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 159.6% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 5,626 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 9.6% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,647,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $288.21 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $310.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $254.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $247.08. The firm has a market cap of $26.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.85 and a beta of 0.68.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.06, for a total transaction of $134,489.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,316,832.12. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,992 shares of company stock worth $1,857,748. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.