Crestmont Private Wealth LLC Has $723,000 Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Crestmont Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,847 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the quarter. VeriSign comprises 0.3% of Crestmont Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $723,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,059,955.65. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $112,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,579,769.95. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,501 shares of company stock worth $2,387,664 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

VeriSign Stock Up 1.1%

VRSN stock opened at $275.56 on Tuesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $172.49 and a twelve month high of $288.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $264.22 and its 200-day moving average is $231.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.45 and a beta of 0.80.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%. The business had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. VeriSign’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a — dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 37.65%.

VeriSign Company 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.