Canoe Financial LP Has $23.42 Million Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Canoe Financial LP reduced its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 61.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,261 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 149,100 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP owned about 0.10% of VeriSign worth $23,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position 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 in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in VeriSign by 106.5% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN traded down $0.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $280.73. 1,026,545 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 758,003. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.49 and a 1-year high of $288.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $273.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $240.53. The firm has a market cap of $26.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.32 and a beta of 0.77.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.10. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.23% and a negative return on equity of 41.37%. The company had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.92 EPS. VeriSign's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,579,769.95. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business'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 transaction of $1,402,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 553,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $155,236,450. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,002 shares of company stock worth $7,013,599 in the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.