Ninety One SA PTY Ltd Buys 14,552 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd boosted its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 103.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,661 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,552 shares during the quarter. VeriSign makes up approximately 1.3% of Ninety One SA PTY Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd's holdings in VeriSign were worth $7,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 worth $406,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased 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 worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased 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 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 Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded down $3.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $286.19. The company had a trading volume of 290,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 755,258. The company has a market capitalization of $26.87 billion, a PE ratio of 35.00 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $281.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $248.23. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $172.49 and a one year high of $291.54.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.10. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.23% and a negative return on equity of 41.37%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.92 earnings per share.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 4,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.87, for a total value of $1,127,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 531,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,890,573.64. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.10, for a total transaction of $143,837.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,843,479.90. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,004 shares of company stock valued at $7,302,812 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.