VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Position Lessened by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd decreased its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,875,260 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 36,200 shares during the quarter. VeriSign comprises about 2.7% of Ninety One UK Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Ninety One UK Ltd owned 4.12% of VeriSign worth $983,812,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 3.6% in the fourth 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. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in VeriSign by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,701,154 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $352,071,000 after buying an additional 35,326 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,327,130 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $273,853,000 after buying an additional 229,311 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,284,759 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $265,894,000 after acquiring an additional 116,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,097,129 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $227,062,000 after acquiring an additional 403,760 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded down $3.57 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $286.19. The stock had a trading volume of 290,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 844,625. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.49 and a 1-year high of $291.54. The company has a market capitalization of $26.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $281.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.23.

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 for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.23% and a negative return on equity of 41.37%. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. VeriSign's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.71, for a total value of $1,383,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 544,772 shares in the company, valued at $150,743,860.12. This represents a 0.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.17, for a total transaction of $145,375.17. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,270 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,104,805.90. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,004 shares of company stock worth $7,302,812 over the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.