Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Invests $45.53 Million in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 219,975 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $45,526,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.23% of VeriSign at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VRSN. Citigroup raised 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 553,625 shares in the company, valued at $155,236,450. This trade represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,579,769.95. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,501 shares of company stock valued at $2,387,664 over the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN traded up $1.64 on Friday, reaching $270.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,539,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 759,330. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.79 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $263.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $229.75. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $168.79 and a 12-month high of $288.95.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share 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 business 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 firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

VeriSign 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.