VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Position Boosted by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

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 fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 704,279 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 81,580 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.73% of VeriSign worth $145,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRSN. CX Institutional boosted its position in VeriSign by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,173 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Pflug Koory LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 700 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $105,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in VeriSign by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 570 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 206.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 53,527 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $11,077,000 after acquiring an additional 36,032 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.40, for a total transaction of $1,402,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 553,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,236,450. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total transaction of $170,274.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,059,955.65. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,501 shares of company stock worth $2,387,664 in the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective 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, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded down $1.51 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $267.63. 227,312 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 754,135. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45 and a beta of 0.80. The company's 50 day moving average is $262.72 and its 200 day moving average is $229.17. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $168.79 and a one year high of $288.95.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is presently 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.