Quantessence Capital LLC Takes $213,000 Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Quantessence Capital LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,029 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% during the fourth 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 fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted 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 during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on VRSN. Citigroup lifted their price target on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN traded up $1.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $277.20. The stock had a trading volume of 230,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 743,221. The firm's fifty day moving average is $244.10 and its 200 day moving average is $214.88. The company has a market capitalization of $26.09 billion, a PE ratio of 34.64 and a beta of 0.87. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.05 and a 12 month high of $279.94.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders 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 (DPR) is 37.65%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.