111 Capital Takes $516,000 Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

111 Capital acquired a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,493 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $516,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,348,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,526,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $367,000. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of VRSN stock traded up $3.09 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $275.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 675,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 756,895. The company has a 50 day moving average of $264.22 and a 200 day moving average of $231.64. The stock has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.45 and a beta of 0.80. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $172.49 and a 12-month high of $288.95.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on VRSN shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.40, for a total transaction of $1,402,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 553,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,236,450. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,735 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 8,501 shares of company stock worth $2,387,664 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.