Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,771 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $367,000.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign
In other VeriSign news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total transaction of $112,788.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,579,769.95. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total value of $170,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,059,955.65. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,501 shares of company stock worth $2,387,664 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.
VeriSign Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $274.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 165,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 755,190. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $172.49 and a 1 year high of $288.95. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $264.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $231.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.37 and a beta of 0.80.
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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%. The company had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.92 EPS. VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.
VeriSign Announces Dividend
The firm 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th.
Get Our Latest Research Report on VRSN
About VeriSign
(
Free Report)
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.
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