Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Reduces Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. decreased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 11.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,600 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,200 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $8,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth $54,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $558,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 542,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,585,364.16. This trade represents a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of VeriSign 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,059,955.65. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,002 shares of company stock worth $4,467,769 in the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.0%

VRSN traded down $2.80 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $281.16. 682,619 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 757,820. The company has a market cap of $26.40 billion, a PE ratio of 34.37 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $271.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.62. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $172.49 and a 1 year high of $288.95.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 41.37% and a net margin of 50.23%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.92 earnings per share.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRSN. Wall Street Zen upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report 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.