Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Takes $1.10 Million Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,321 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,101,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VRSN. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% in the fourth 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 boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 5.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VRSN. StockNews.com raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective 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.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,579,769.95. This represents a 1.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total value of $170,274.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,059,955.65. The trade was a 13.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,447 shares of company stock valued at $386,654. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.3 %

VRSN stock opened at $281.41 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $168.51 and a 1-year high of $288.95. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $252.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.42 billion, a PE ratio of 35.18 and a beta of 0.80.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

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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