Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Buys New Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,177 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,348,000.

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

VeriSign Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of VRSN traded up $1.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $270.32. 1,539,205 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 759,558. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.58 and a 1 year high of $288.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.79 and a beta of 0.80. The business's 50-day moving average price is $263.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $229.75.

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 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 analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

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 given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report 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 dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.40, for a total value of $1,402,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.00, for a total value of $141,282.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,719 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,200,758. The trade was a 1.25% 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 in the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.