Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $33 Million Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 159,442 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 8,798 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.17% of VeriSign worth $32,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 322.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 261,526 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $53,639,000 after purchasing an additional 199,583 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in VeriSign by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,462 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 2,218 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc raised its stake in VeriSign by 3.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at about $600,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at about $989,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of VRSN stock traded up $0.97 on Friday, reaching $282.61. The company had a trading volume of 243,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 752,715. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.54 billion, a PE ratio of 35.33 and a beta of 0.80. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $168.70 and a one year high of $288.95. The business's 50-day moving average is $255.60 and its 200 day moving average is $223.07.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,059,955.65. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total transaction of $112,788.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,579,769.95. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,447 shares of company stock valued at $386,654 over the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.