VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Position Cut by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 66.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 127,802 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 249,882 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.14% of VeriSign worth $32,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,512 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 847.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 12,528 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,593,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in VeriSign by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 5,437 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $11,865,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $8,310,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRSN. Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.17, for a total transaction of $145,375.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,270 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,104,805.90. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total value of $170,274.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,059,955.65. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,503 shares of company stock worth $7,158,975 over the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of VRSN traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $286.85. 777,986 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 754,364. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.49 and a 1-year high of $290.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $280.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $247.67. The company has a market cap of $26.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07 and a beta of 0.78.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

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.