Foster & Motley Inc. Purchases 2,464 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 19.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,001 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,464 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $4,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth $300,249,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 32.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,003 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $894,414,000 after acquiring an additional 767,363 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew 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 acquiring an additional 531,041 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in VeriSign during the second quarter worth approximately $124,066,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in VeriSign by 496.3% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 352,481 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $101,797,000 after purchasing an additional 293,373 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $243.78 on Thursday. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.37 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The company has a market cap of $22.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $246.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $265.26.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 (DPR) is 35.90%.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.25, for a total value of $488,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 423,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,341,930.75. The trade was a 0.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.83, for a total value of $79,955.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,532,439.91. This trade represents a 1.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 47,670 shares of company stock valued at $11,986,654 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VRSN. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $282.00.

VeriSign Company 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.