VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock Position Decreased by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,598 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,374 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in VeriSign were worth $5,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN traded up $3.09 during trading on Monday, hitting $275.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 675,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 756,887. The company has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.45 and a beta of 0.80. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $172.49 and a fifty-two week high of $288.95. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $264.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.64.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted 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 negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%. 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 business earned $1.92 EPS. VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, 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 value of $170,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,059,955.65. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total value of $112,788.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,335 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 8,501 shares of company stock valued at $2,387,664 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.