iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $2.42 Million Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 29.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,947 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,264 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Strategy Asset Managers LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 3rd quarter worth about $654,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of 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. Perpetual Ltd lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 159.6% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 5,626 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,719 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,647,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.06, for a total value of $134,489.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,316,832.12. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,826 shares of company stock worth $1,821,354. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

VeriSign Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of VRSN opened at $305.31 on Tuesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.74 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $263.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $249.06.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The firm had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.80%.

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.