Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 118 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,078 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 573 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,017 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on VRSN shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday.

VeriSign Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of VRSN opened at $282.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $279.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.10. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $172.49 and a twelve month high of $290.38.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.10. The business had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.23% and a negative return on equity of 41.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a — dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.17, for a total transaction of $145,375.17. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,104,805.90. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total transaction of $170,274.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,059,955.65. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,503 shares of company stock valued at $7,158,975. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.