VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by Guardian Wealth Management Inc.

Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,457 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,594 shares during the period. VeriSign accounts for approximately 2.3% of Guardian Wealth Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Guardian Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $3,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,701,154 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $352,071,000 after purchasing an additional 35,326 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,284,759 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $265,894,000 after acquiring an additional 116,833 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $222,840,000. Troy Asset Management Ltd raised its position in VeriSign by 49.1% in the 4th quarter. Troy Asset Management Ltd now owns 914,543 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $189,274,000 after purchasing an additional 301,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 702,055 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $148,604,000 after buying an additional 106,094 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded up $1.56 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $277.75. The company had a trading volume of 313,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 743,489. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $167.05 and a twelve month high of $279.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $244.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.14 billion, a PE ratio of 34.71 and a beta of 0.87.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on VRSN shares. 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 target price on shares of VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.