Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC raised its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,452 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares during the period. VeriSign accounts for approximately 1.5% of Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $4,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 322.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 261,526 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $53,639,000 after buying an additional 199,583 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,462 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,235,000 after acquiring an additional 2,218 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,746,661,000 after purchasing an additional 455,844 shares during the period. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $600,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $989,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,059,955.65. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $155,236,450. This trade represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,447 shares of company stock worth $2,349,974 over the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded down $2.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $279.76. 556,585 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 755,349. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.97 and a beta of 0.80. The business's fifty day moving average is $260.93 and its 200 day moving average is $227.36. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $168.79 and a fifty-two week high of $288.95.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VRSN shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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.

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.