Stifel Financial Corp Acquires 264 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,834 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $130,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 59.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 102,042 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,224,000 after acquiring an additional 38,036 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $329,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 544.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 391,319 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $81,003,000 after purchasing an additional 330,561 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VRSN shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.2 %

VeriSign stock opened at $284.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.57 and a beta of 0.80. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.80 and a 12 month high of $285.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $248.79 and its 200-day moving average is $218.18.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.10. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.