VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp decreased its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,173 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 573 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $269.14. 700,689 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 756,176. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $168.79 and a 52-week high of $288.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.27 billion, a PE ratio of 33.64 and a beta of 0.80. The business's fifty day moving average price is $262.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.89.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10. The business had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.92 earnings per share.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,579,769.95. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 553,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at $155,236,450. This trade represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,246,382 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign 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.