VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. cut its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,630 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 5,616 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.11% of VeriSign worth $21,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Algert Global LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 121.1% in the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 8,080 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,672,000 after buying an additional 4,425 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth $218,000. AXA S.A. boosted its stake in VeriSign by 58.6% during the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 30,225 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,255,000 after purchasing an additional 11,163 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth $1,101,000. Finally, Cypress Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth $218,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $283.14. The company had a trading volume of 710,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 754,311. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $168.79 and a twelve month high of $288.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $256.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39 and a beta of 0.80.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total value of $112,788.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,579,769.95. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total transaction of $170,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,059,955.65. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,447 shares of company stock worth $386,654. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRSN. StockNews.com upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

VeriSign Profile

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.