Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Has $1.95 Million Stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 55.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,422 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 11,888 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 127.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in VeriSign by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $284.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.57 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $248.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $218.18. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $167.80 and a 1-year high of $288.61.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total transaction of $112,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,335 shares in the company, valued at $6,579,769.95. The trade was a 1.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.