VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 31.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,789 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 48,888 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC owned about 0.11% of VeriSign worth $22,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.7%

VeriSign stock traded down $2.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $279.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 556,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 755,349. The firm has a market cap of $26.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.97 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $260.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $227.36. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $168.79 and a twelve month high of $288.95.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.44 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total transaction of $170,274.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,500,586.25. The trade was a 1.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,447 shares of company stock worth $2,349,974 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.