Berkshire Hathaway Inc Purchases 455,844 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 455,844 shares during the period. VeriSign makes up 1.0% of Berkshire Hathaway Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Berkshire Hathaway Inc owned approximately 13.81% of VeriSign worth $2,746,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 544.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 391,319 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $81,003,000 after buying an additional 330,561 shares during the period. Birch Capital Management LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 3,996.0% during the 4th quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 4,096 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $848,000 after acquiring an additional 3,996 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 322.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 261,526 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,639,000 after acquiring an additional 199,583 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,462 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,235,000 after acquiring an additional 2,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $600,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of VeriSign stock traded up $4.16 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $287.38. 1,188,096 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 747,478. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $249.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.92 and a beta of 0.80. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $168.42 and a 1-year high of $288.82.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.10. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total transaction of $112,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,579,769.95. This trade represents a 1.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.