Xponance Inc. Grows Stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 51.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,152 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,148 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $4,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 573 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 48.8% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in VeriSign by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VRSN opened at $281.39 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $172.49 and a one year high of $291.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.42 billion, a PE ratio of 34.40 and a beta of 0.78. The business's 50 day moving average price is $281.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $249.70.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.71, for a total value of $1,383,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 544,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,743,860.12. This represents a 0.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.17, for a total value of $145,375.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,270 shares in the company, valued at $11,104,805.90. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,004 shares of company stock worth $9,305,492. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday.

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.

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