Mackenzie Financial Corp Lowers Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lessened its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 452,944 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 26,451 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.48% of VeriSign worth $93,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its holdings in VeriSign by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,173 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 573 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in VeriSign by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock traded up $1.10 on Friday, reaching $269.78. The company had a trading volume of 198,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 754,034. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $263.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.75. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $168.79 and a 1 year high of $288.95. The firm has a market cap of $25.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.75 and a beta of 0.80.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.92 EPS. VeriSign's revenue 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 given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, 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 transaction of $141,282.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,719 shares in the company, valued at $11,200,758. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the business'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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,501 shares of company stock valued at $2,387,664. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.