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

Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 41.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,778 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying 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.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $269.00. The stock had a trading volume of 154,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 754,878. The firm has a market cap of $25.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $262.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.89. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $168.79 and a twelve month high of $288.95.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors 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 is 37.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.66, for a total value of $561,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 551,625 shares in the company, valued at $154,819,072.50. This trade represents a 0.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total transaction of $170,274.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,059,955.65. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $2,246,382 over the last three months. 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.