NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,693 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $350,000.
Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at $244,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $989,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. CX Institutional increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,173 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Pflug Koory LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 700 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
VeriSign Price Performance
VRSN stock traded down $1.65 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $280.84. 888,087 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 754,868. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $168.79 and a 1 year high of $288.95. The company has a market cap of $26.37 billion, a PE ratio of 35.11 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $257.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.18.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10. The business had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The business's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.92 EPS.
VeriSign Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages recently commented on VRSN. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on VeriSign
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total value of $170,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,579,769.95. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,447 shares of company stock valued at $386,654. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
About VeriSign
(
Free Report)
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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