VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Position Raised by Shariaportfolio Inc.

Shariaportfolio Inc. grew its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 33.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,904 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,244 shares during the quarter. VeriSign makes up about 1.7% of Shariaportfolio Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Shariaportfolio Inc.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $3,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 573 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 48.8% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.87, for a total value of $1,127,480.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 531,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,890,573.64. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,335 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,002 shares of company stock worth $7,013,599. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of VeriSign stock traded up $1.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $284.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 315,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 859,956. The business has a fifty day moving average of $274.35 and a 200 day moving average of $241.53. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.49 and a 1-year high of $288.95. The company has a market capitalization of $26.74 billion, a PE ratio of 34.86 and a beta of 0.77.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

VeriSign Company 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.