29,424 Shares in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Acquired by Raiffeisen Bank International AG

Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 29,424 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,035,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,746,661,000 after purchasing an additional 455,844 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,701,154 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $352,071,000 after buying an additional 35,326 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,327,130 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $273,853,000 after purchasing an additional 229,311 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in VeriSign by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,284,759 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $265,894,000 after buying an additional 116,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,097,129 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $227,062,000 after purchasing an additional 403,760 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ VRSN traded down $1.15 on Wednesday, reaching $279.69. 211,989 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 752,738. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $168.79 and a 12 month high of $288.95. The company has a market cap of $26.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $258.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.57.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.92 earnings per share.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.65%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total value of $112,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,335 shares in the company, valued at $6,579,769.95. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,059,955.65. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,447 shares of company stock valued at $386,654 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price 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. Robert W. Baird boosted 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, StockNews.com upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th.

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.