Wealthfront Advisers LLC Boosts Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 26.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,624 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its stake in VeriSign by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,746,661,000 after buying an additional 455,844 shares during the last quarter. 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 boosted its stake 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 worth $273,853,000 after buying an additional 229,311 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in VeriSign by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,284,759 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $265,894,000 after buying an additional 116,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in VeriSign by 58.2% in 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 buying an additional 403,760 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded up $2.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $283.43. The stock had a trading volume of 359,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 755,026. The company has a market capitalization of $26.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.49 and a 1-year high of $291.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $280.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $252.39.

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 for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.10. The business 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 41.37% and a net margin of 50.23%. The company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders 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 currently 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.71, for a total transaction of $1,383,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 544,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,743,860.12. This trade represents a 0.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 40,004 shares of company stock valued at $11,278,592. 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.