Voloridge Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC lessened its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 47.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,642 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 61,514 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of VeriSign worth $14,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its position in VeriSign by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,173 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 573 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in VeriSign by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total transaction of $112,788.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,579,769.95. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.40, for a total transaction of $1,402,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 553,625 shares in the company, valued at $155,236,450. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,501 shares of company stock valued at $2,387,664 over the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ VRSN traded down $2.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $266.81. 204,640 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 754,025. The business's fifty day moving average price is $262.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.32 and a beta of 0.80. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $168.79 and a 52 week high of $288.95.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.10. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The business had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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 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.