AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 229,311 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,327,130 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 229,311 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 1.38% of VeriSign worth $273,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $276.19 on Tuesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.05 and a 12 month high of $279.94. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $244.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.88. The firm has a market cap of $26.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.52 and a beta of 0.87.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Company 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.

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