Cresset Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Cresset Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 81.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,446 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 6,299 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BOKF NA increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. BOKF NA now owns 20,275 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,199,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 23,665 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,898,000 after acquiring an additional 6,224 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 225.3% during the fourth quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 19,550 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,046,000 after purchasing an additional 13,540 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 179.8% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 285,072 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $58,999,000 after purchasing an additional 183,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 276,060 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $57,133,000 after purchasing an additional 6,628 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VRSN. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup upped their price objective on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VRSN stock traded down $1.65 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $280.84. The company had a trading volume of 888,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 753,786. The firm has a market cap of $26.37 billion, a PE ratio of 35.11 and a beta of 0.80. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $168.79 and a 12 month high of $288.95. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $257.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.18.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.92 earnings per share.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 payout ratio is 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

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

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.