State of Wyoming Acquires 764 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 55.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,149 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the period. State of Wyoming’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,173 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,429 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $282.49 on Tuesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $168.79 and a 12-month high of $288.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $257.47 and its 200 day moving average is $225.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.31 and a beta of 0.80.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $400.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the 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 owns 3,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,059,955.65. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,447 shares of company stock worth $386,654. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.