Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Invests $2.43 Million in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,575 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,431,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its position 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 buying an additional 455,844 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in VeriSign by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,701,154 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $352,071,000 after acquiring an additional 35,326 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,327,130 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $273,853,000 after acquiring an additional 229,311 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,284,759 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $265,894,000 after purchasing an additional 116,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,097,129 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $227,062,000 after purchasing an additional 403,760 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $281.88. 439,140 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 753,847. The stock has a market cap of $26.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's 50-day moving average is $280.30 and its 200-day moving average is $245.70. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.49 and a 1-year high of $290.38.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders 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 (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.71, for a total value of $1,383,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 544,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,743,860.12. This trade represents a 0.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total transaction of $170,274.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,059,955.65. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,503 shares of company stock valued at $7,158,975. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research 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.