Point72 Asset Management L.P. Acquires 504,748 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 268.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 692,498 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 504,748 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.72% of VeriSign worth $143,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in VeriSign by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN stock traded down $2.79 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $279.70. 266,304 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 882,734. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.96 and a beta of 0.80. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $257.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.18. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $168.79 and a twelve month high of $288.95.

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 for the quarter, hitting 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.92 earnings per share. VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total transaction of $112,788.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,579,769.95. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total value of $170,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 1,447 shares of company stock worth $386,654. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.