Guardian Wealth Management Inc. Sells 2,594 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Guardian Wealth Management Inc. cut its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,457 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,594 shares during the quarter. VeriSign accounts for 2.3% of Guardian Wealth Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Guardian Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $3,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Norges Bank bought a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $222,840,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $141,129,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 544.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 391,319 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $81,003,000 after acquiring an additional 330,561 shares during the period. Troy Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Troy Asset Management Ltd now owns 914,543 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $189,274,000 after acquiring an additional 301,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 322.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 261,526 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,639,000 after purchasing an additional 199,583 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the firm'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 value of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

VeriSign Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of VRSN traded up $3.40 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $276.19. The stock had a trading volume of 1,123,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 745,172. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $243.21 and a 200 day moving average of $214.26. The company has a market cap of $26.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.52 and a beta of 0.87. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $167.05 and a 52 week high of $279.46.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

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.