VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 57,082 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 15,040 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of VeriSign worth $11,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 322.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 261,526 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,639,000 after acquiring an additional 199,583 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in VeriSign by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,462 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 2,218 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,746,661,000 after purchasing an additional 455,844 shares during the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $600,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $989,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN stock traded up $5.24 on Thursday, hitting $281.64. The stock had a trading volume of 794,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 755,693. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.21 and a beta of 0.80. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $168.51 and a 1 year high of $288.95. The company's 50 day moving average price is $254.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.36.

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, 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 firm 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 firm earned $1.92 EPS. The firm'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. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on 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 raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th.

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.