Dark Forest Capital Management LP Has $671,000 Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 56.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,241 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,172 shares during the quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in VeriSign were worth $671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 1.8% in 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 in the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% in 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 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 worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,429 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ VRSN traded up $2.53 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $278.72. 536,012 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 744,495. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $167.05 and a fifty-two week high of $279.94. The firm has a market cap of $26.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.85 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $244.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.88.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The business had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.92 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

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 given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 23,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,500,586.25. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSN has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday.

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.