VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stake Raised by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 150.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 329,027 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 197,402 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.35% of VeriSign worth $83,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 13,000.0% in the 1st 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 holdings 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter valued at about $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRSN. Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.3%

VRSN opened at $283.21 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.49 and a 1-year high of $288.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $276.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $242.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.59 billion, a PE ratio of 34.62 and a beta of 0.77.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.10. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 41.37% and a net margin of 50.23%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total value of $112,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,335 shares in the company, valued at $6,579,769.95. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total transaction of $170,274.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,059,955.65. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,002 shares of company stock worth $7,013,599. 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRSN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.