Johnson Financial Group Inc. Lowers Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Johnson Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN – Free Report) by 50.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 805 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 815 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its position in VeriSign by 69.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $272.79 on Monday. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $167.05 and a one year high of $276.71. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10 and a beta of 0.87.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on VeriSign

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at $5,500,586.25. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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