VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Purchased by Spire Wealth Management

Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 8,332.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,333 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,080 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management's holdings in VeriSign were worth $5,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in VeriSign by 13,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock opened at $285.03 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $26.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.84 and a beta of 0.77. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $172.49 and a 12 month high of $288.95. The stock's 50-day moving average is $275.05 and its 200-day moving average is $241.83.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.23% and a negative return on equity of 41.37%. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. VeriSign's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on VRSN shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of 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 $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.44, for a total transaction of $137,995.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,272 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,817,079.68. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 553,625 shares in the company, valued at $155,236,450. This trade represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,002 shares of company stock worth $7,013,599 over the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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