VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock Holdings Lifted by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,788 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $4,716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

In related news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the business’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 value of $170,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total value of $112,788.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,579,769.95. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,447 shares of company stock worth $386,654. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $282.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.31 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $257.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.18. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $168.79 and a 52-week high of $288.95.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.92 earnings per share.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

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.