Tidal Investments LLC Decreases Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Tidal Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,114 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,061 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $4,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $989,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. CX Institutional raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,173 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Pflug Koory LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 700 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $105,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $280.84 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.11 and a beta of 0.80. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $168.79 and a 12 month high of $288.95. The firm's 50-day moving average is $258.41 and its 200 day moving average is $225.57.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.10. The company had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total transaction of $112,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,579,769.95. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total transaction of $170,274.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,059,955.65. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,447 shares of company stock valued at $386,654. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRSN. 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 report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th.

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.

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