Rhumbline Advisers Grows Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 260,119 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,392 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.28% of VeriSign worth $66,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in VeriSign by 69.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN traded up $3.40 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $277.89. 704,868 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 882,605. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $265.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.24. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $172.49 and a 12-month high of $288.95. The company has a market cap of $26.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.74 and a beta of 0.80.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10. The business had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 earned $1.92 earnings per share.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is 37.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,579,769.95. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total value of $170,274.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,059,955.65. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,002 shares of company stock valued at $2,525,659 in the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. 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 shares of VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

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.