Cache Advisors LLC Takes $685,000 Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Cache Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,308 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $685,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 127.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Trading Down 3.6%

VeriSign stock traded down $10.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $269.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,191,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 757,231. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $168.79 and a fifty-two week high of $288.95. The company has a market cap of $25.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.70 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $228.61.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10. The company had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. VeriSign's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.92 earnings per share.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total value of $170,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,059,955.65. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,579,769.95. This represents 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 8,000 shares of company stock worth $2,246,382 over the last quarter. 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.