MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 188.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,936 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,263 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $5,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $222,840,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at $141,129,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,746,661,000 after buying an additional 455,844 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,097,129 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $227,062,000 after buying an additional 403,760 shares during the period. Finally, Troy Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 49.1% during the 4th quarter. Troy Asset Management Ltd now owns 914,543 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $189,274,000 after buying an additional 301,267 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were 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 $6,579,769.95. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total transaction of $170,274.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,447 shares of company stock valued at $386,654. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $283.14 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $256.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.44. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $168.79 and a twelve month high of $288.95. The stock has a market cap of $26.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39 and a beta of 0.80.

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 net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The firm 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 company earned $1.92 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

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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