Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 2,142 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 47.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,420 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,142 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in VeriSign were worth $614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 272 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. GraniteShares Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at $509,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at $214,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.8%

VRSN opened at $285.03 on Wednesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $172.49 and a 52-week high of $288.95. The stock has a market cap of $26.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.84 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $275.05 and a 200 day moving average of $241.83.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.92 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total value of $112,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,579,769.95. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.00, for a total value of $141,282.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,719 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,200,758. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,002 shares of company stock worth $7,013,599. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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