Abacus FCF Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 53,931 VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Abacus FCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 53,931 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,691,000. VeriSign accounts for approximately 2.2% of Abacus FCF Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of VeriSign as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cache Advisors LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $685,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 322.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 261,526 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $53,639,000 after acquiring an additional 199,583 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,462 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,235,000 after acquiring an additional 2,218 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,746,661,000 after acquiring an additional 455,844 shares during the period. Finally, United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $600,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded down $1.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $278.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 660,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 758,817. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $172.49 and a one year high of $288.95. The company has a market cap of $26.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.81 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $266.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.06.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.00, for a total transaction of $141,282.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,719 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,200,758. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total value of $112,788.00. Following the completion of 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 represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,002 shares of company stock valued at $2,525,659. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th.

About VeriSign

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.