Dark Forest Capital Management LP Raises Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 56.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,241 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,172 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in VeriSign were worth $671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 69.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock traded down $0.80 on Wednesday, hitting $277.56. 219,049 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 741,701. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $167.05 and a 1 year high of $280.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $244.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a PE ratio of 34.69 and a beta of 0.87.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%. VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 is currently 37.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.