VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,926 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,927 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in VeriSign were worth $7,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $558,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 542,772 shares in the company, valued at $151,585,364.16. The trade was a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.44, for a total value of $137,995.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,817,079.68. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,002 shares of company stock worth $4,467,769. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN traded down $1.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $279.90. The stock had a trading volume of 427,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 758,457. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $172.49 and a twelve month high of $288.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.99 and a beta of 0.77.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

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.