XTX Topco Ltd Buys Shares of 1,218 VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,218 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VRSN. Mariner LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,077,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 287,298 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $59,459,000 after buying an additional 26,852 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,714 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $976,000 after buying an additional 1,585 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its position in VeriSign by 905.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,407 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 6,635 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,373,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at $5,500,586.25. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on VRSN. Citigroup lifted their target price on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research 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 Price Performance

Shares of VRSN stock traded down $3.80 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $278.33. 325,517 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 741,580. The company's 50 day moving average is $245.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.78. The company has a market cap of $26.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.89 and a beta of 0.87. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $167.05 and a 1 year high of $288.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS. The business's revenue 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 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%.

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.