Voloridge Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 47.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,642 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 61,514 shares during the quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned about 0.07% of VeriSign worth $14,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.66, for a total transaction of $561,320.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 551,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $154,819,072.50. This represents a 0.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was 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 approximately $6,579,769.95. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $2,246,382. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup upped their price target on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Trading Down 3.6%

VRSN stock traded down $10.20 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $269.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,191,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 757,231. The stock's 50 day moving average is $261.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $228.61. The firm has a market cap of $25.31 billion, a PE ratio of 33.70 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is 37.65%.

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.