Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 9,184 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 15.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,027 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 9,184 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of VeriSign worth $12,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VRSN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $222,840,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 34,326.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 697,127 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $176,980,000 after buying an additional 695,102 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 268.8% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 692,498 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $143,319,000 after acquiring an additional 504,748 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc raised its holdings in VeriSign by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,746,661,000 after acquiring an additional 455,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in VeriSign by 58.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,097,129 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $227,062,000 after acquiring an additional 403,760 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN stock traded up $19.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $305.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,260,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 605,056. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $282.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $255.24. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $172.49 and a one year high of $308.00. The firm has a market cap of $28.71 billion, a PE ratio of 36.49 and a beta of 0.78.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 41.12%. The firm had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information services provider to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on VRSN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.35, for a total transaction of $562,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 515,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $145,112,452.20. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.10, for a total transaction of $143,837.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,843,479.90. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,004 shares of company stock valued at $11,278,592 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

About VeriSign

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.