Bank of America Corp DE Increases Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 276,060 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,628 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $57,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 23,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,579,769.95. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were 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 $1,059,955.65. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,447 shares of company stock valued at $386,654. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Down 1.3%

VeriSign stock opened at $275.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.49 and a beta of 0.80. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $168.51 and a 52-week high of $288.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $254.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.98.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the business earned $1.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.