VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock Holdings Boosted by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments raised its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 103.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,273 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,680 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments' holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its position in VeriSign by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,746,661,000 after acquiring an additional 455,844 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,701,154 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $352,071,000 after buying an additional 35,326 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,327,130 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $273,853,000 after buying an additional 229,311 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,284,759 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $265,894,000 after buying an additional 116,833 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,097,129 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $227,062,000 after buying an additional 403,760 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total value of $170,274.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,059,955.65. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,501 shares of company stock worth $2,387,664 over the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN traded up $3.09 on Monday, reaching $275.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 675,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 756,887. The stock has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.45 and a beta of 0.80. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $172.49 and a 1 year high of $288.95. The business's 50 day moving average is $263.68 and its 200 day moving average is $230.98.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.10. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.92 earnings per share. VeriSign's revenue for the quarter 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

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.