Praxis Investment Management Inc. Acquires 1,620 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Praxis Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 101.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,210 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,620 shares during the period. Praxis Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 573 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.2%

VRSN stock opened at $280.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.32 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $273.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $240.53. 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 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 50.23% and a negative return on equity of 41.37%. The company had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders 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 is currently 37.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on VRSN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird increased 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.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.40, for a total transaction of $1,402,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 553,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $155,236,450. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,579,769.95. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,002 shares of company stock worth $7,013,599 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Profile

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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