Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Trims Stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 229,397 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,910 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.24% of VeriSign worth $58,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 13,000.0% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in VeriSign by 106.5% in the first 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. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the first quarter valued at about $47,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 48.8% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign during the first quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total value of $170,274.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,059,955.65. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were 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 $150,743,860.12. This trade represents a 0.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,503 shares of company stock worth $7,158,975 over the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday.

VeriSign Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of VeriSign stock traded down $7.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $282.02. 956,674 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 753,542. The firm has a market cap of $26.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $172.49 and a 1 year high of $290.38. The stock's fifty day moving average is $279.10 and its 200 day moving average is $244.85.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

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.