VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stake Trimmed by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,766 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,742 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $3,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of VeriSign stock traded down $1.91 on Friday, hitting $279.90. 427,324 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 758,457. The stock has a market cap of $26.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.99 and a beta of 0.77. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $172.49 and a 52-week high of $288.95. The firm's 50-day moving average is $268.89 and its 200 day moving average is $236.36.

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 for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10. The business had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $558,560.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 542,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at $151,585,364.16. The trade was a 0.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,272 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,817,079.68. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,002 shares of company stock worth $4,467,769. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report 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.