The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 885 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,113 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 885 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.05% of VeriSign worth $10,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 69.8% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN traded down $3.82 on Friday, hitting $281.39. The stock had a trading volume of 441,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 748,545. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $251.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $168.51 and a twelve month high of $288.95. The company has a market capitalization of $26.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.17 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.10. The business had revenue of $402.30 million for 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 firm's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 13.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,447 shares of company stock valued at $386,654. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Company 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.