State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Has $3.30 Million Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury cut its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 28.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,944 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 6,492 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in VeriSign were worth $3,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,856 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,626,000 after buying an additional 1,771 shares during the last quarter. Natixis boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 56,660 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $11,726,000 after purchasing an additional 4,602 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 3,680 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $720,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in VeriSign by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,766 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

VeriSign Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:VRSN traded up $3.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $282.72. 349,748 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 741,000. The company has a market capitalization of $26.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.32 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $246.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $216.41. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.05 and a 12 month high of $284.88.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.