Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Takes $233,000 Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 918 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in VeriSign by 106.5% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 127.2% in 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. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN stock traded up $1.98 on Thursday, hitting $281.81. 676,442 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 759,782. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.49 and a 1-year high of $288.95. The company's fifty day moving average is $267.94 and its 200 day moving average is $235.67. The company has a market capitalization of $26.46 billion, a PE ratio of 35.23 and a beta of 0.77.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total value of $170,274.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,059,955.65. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.40, for a total transaction of $1,402,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 553,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $155,236,450. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,002 shares of company stock valued at $2,525,659. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRSN. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target 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 raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note 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.