EP Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,009 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 161 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $281.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $220.67. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $168.51 and a fifty-two week high of $288.95.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.92 earnings per share.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 37.65%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, 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 value of $112,788.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,335 shares in the company, valued at $6,579,769.95. This represents a 1.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $170,274.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,059,955.65. The trade was a 13.84 % decrease in their position. 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 ninety days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.