Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 67.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,985 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,504 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of VeriSign worth $15,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 13,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on VRSN. Wall Street Zen upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of VRSN stock traded up $1.42 on Monday, reaching $282.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 548,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 842,284. The company has a market capitalization of $26.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.57 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $172.49 and a 12-month high of $291.54. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $281.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.03.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released 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 negative return on equity of 41.37% and a net margin of 50.23%. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.17, for a total value of $145,375.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,104,805.90. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.71, for a total value of $1,383,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 544,772 shares in the company, valued at $150,743,860.12. The trade was a 0.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,004 shares of company stock valued at $9,305,492 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.