Vident Advisory LLC Buys 1,972 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 41.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,778 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,972 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN traded down $11.94 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $267.82. 766,919 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 883,685. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.52 and a beta of 0.80. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $168.79 and a 52 week high of $288.95.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.40, for a total transaction of $1,402,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 553,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,236,450. This trade represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total value of $112,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,579,769.95. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,246,382 over the last quarter. 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.