Cwm LLC Purchases 19,918 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 103.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,181 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,918 shares during the period. CWM LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $9,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oxbow Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 14,551 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,694,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at about $218,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 51.2% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 18,152 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,608,000 after acquiring an additional 6,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 67.2% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 60,985 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $15,482,000 after acquiring an additional 24,504 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total value of $578,580.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 524,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $151,811,291.88. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.10, for a total value of $143,837.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,843,479.90. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,004 shares of company stock worth $9,305,492. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently 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 objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock traded down $1.61 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $279.88. 102,737 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 755,440. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $281.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.80. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $172.49 and a 12 month high of $291.54. The firm has a market cap of $26.28 billion, a PE ratio of 34.21 and a beta of 0.78.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

VeriSign Company 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.