Vestcor Inc Has $23.90 Million Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 14.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,503 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,637 shares during the period. VeriSign accounts for 0.7% of Vestcor Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Vestcor Inc owned about 0.09% of VeriSign worth $23,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in VeriSign by 8.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,199,318,000 after purchasing an additional 861,065 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 1.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,932,243 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,135,632,000 after purchasing an additional 73,931 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 32.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,003 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $894,414,000 after buying an additional 767,363 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,326,799 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $670,685,000 after buying an additional 44,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth about $300,249,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. 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 target price of $292.00.

VeriSign Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of VRSN opened at $243.78 on Monday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $310.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $236.81 and its 200-day moving average is $252.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 0.76.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $425.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.04 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.84% and a negative return on equity of 40.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. This is an increase from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.78%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.07, for a total value of $125,285.07. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,904,462.63. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.59, for a total transaction of $1,222,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 434,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,176,274.41. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,659 shares of company stock valued at $5,788,560. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.