Victrix Investment Advisors Invests $900,000 in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Victrix Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,347 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $900,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth about $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 about $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 69.8% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VeriSign stock traded down $2.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $279.76. 556,585 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 755,349. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.97 and a beta of 0.80. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $168.79 and a fifty-two week high of $288.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $227.36.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.10. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.92 earnings per share.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total value of $112,788.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,579,769.95. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.40, for a total value of $1,402,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 553,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,236,450. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,447 shares of company stock valued at $2,349,974. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th.

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.