Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 54,759 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 358.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,017 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 54,759 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.07% of VeriSign worth $17,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 2,210 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Albert D Mason Inc. purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the 1st quarter worth $321,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 198.0% in the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 3,654 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $928,000 after purchasing an additional 2,428 shares in the last quarter. Willis Investment Counsel lifted its stake in VeriSign by 116.0% in the 1st quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 4,783 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,214,000 after purchasing an additional 2,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in VeriSign by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,470 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of VeriSign 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,272 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,817,079.68. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total transaction of $170,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,002 shares of company stock worth $7,013,599. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $280.73 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $172.49 and a 52 week high of $288.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $273.64 and a 200 day moving average of $240.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.32 and a beta of 0.77.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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 report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Company 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.

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