VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Position Reduced by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC decreased its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 44.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,172 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 7,369 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 322.2% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 261,526 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,639,000 after purchasing an additional 199,583 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in VeriSign by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,462 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 2,218 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc increased its position in VeriSign by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,746,661,000 after purchasing an additional 455,844 shares during the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth approximately $600,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth approximately $989,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 553,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,236,450. This represents a 0.90% 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, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $6,579,769.95. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $2,246,382. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of VeriSign stock traded down $10.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $269.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,191,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 757,231. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $168.79 and a 1-year high of $288.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $262.23 and a 200 day moving average of $228.89. The company has a market capitalization of $25.31 billion, a PE ratio of 33.70 and a beta of 0.80.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.10. The company had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.92 earnings per share.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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