1,598 Shares in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Bought by Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,598 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in VeriSign by 13,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 32.3% in the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on VRSN. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $283.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.65 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $172.49 and a 1 year high of $291.54. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $280.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $252.07.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.10. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 41.37% and a net margin of 50.23%. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.92 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.10, for a total value of $143,837.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,843,479.90. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.35, for a total value of $562,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 515,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $145,112,452.20. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,004 shares of company stock valued at $11,278,592. 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.

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