Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 23,803 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 359,297 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 23,803 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.38% of VeriSign worth $91,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 573 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 48.8% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

VeriSign Trading Down 0.7%

VRSN stock traded down $1.91 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $279.90. 427,324 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 760,667. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.99 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.32. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $172.49 and a 12 month high of $288.95.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.10. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $558,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 542,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $151,585,364.16. The trade was a 0.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,002 shares of company stock worth $4,467,769. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

About VeriSign

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.