UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $145.76 Million Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 704,279 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 81,580 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.73% of VeriSign worth $145,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $1,027,000. Victrix Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $900,000. Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 6,778 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,972 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 485,997 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $100,582,000 after acquiring an additional 36,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 573 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 553,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at $155,236,450. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total transaction of $112,788.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,579,769.95. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,246,382. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:VRSN traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $269.14. The company had a trading volume of 700,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 757,005. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $262.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $228.89. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $168.79 and a one year high of $288.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.27 billion, a PE ratio of 33.64 and a beta of 0.80.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The company had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.92 EPS. The firm'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 will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders 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 37.65%.

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.