VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by Man Group plc

Man Group plc lessened its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 24.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 57,272 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 18,091 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.06% of VeriSign worth $11,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 127.2% during the fourth 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 purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying 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 stock opened at $283.14 on Monday. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $168.79 and a fifty-two week high of $288.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $256.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.39 and a beta of 0.80.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The company had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders 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 presently 37.65%.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total value of $170,274.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,059,955.65. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at $5,500,586.25. This represents a 1.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,447 shares of company stock worth $386,654 in the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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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