Hsbc Holdings PLC Reduces Stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 52.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 229,688 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 254,198 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.24% of VeriSign worth $47,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. CX Institutional increased its holdings in VeriSign by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,173 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in VeriSign by 4.6% in 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 period. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,429 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of VRSN traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $277.56. 219,049 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 741,701. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $167.05 and a 52-week high of $280.58. The company has a market cap of $26.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.69 and a beta of 0.87. The company's 50-day moving average price is $244.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.32.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is currently 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.