NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Purchases New Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,226 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth $222,840,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $141,129,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 268.8% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 692,498 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $143,319,000 after buying an additional 504,748 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 3.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 455,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 58.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 403,760 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSN traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $274.49. 582,193 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 756,767. The company has a market capitalization of $25.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.31 and a beta of 0.80. The company's 50-day moving average is $265.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.24. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $172.49 and a one 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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.10. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The company had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.40, for a total transaction of $1,402,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 553,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,236,450. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 3,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,059,955.65. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,002 shares of company stock valued at $2,525,659 in the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on VRSN shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

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.