Colonial Trust Co SC Boosts Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 6,525.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 265 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $55,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 59.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 102,042 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,224,000 after acquiring an additional 38,036 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,222 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,601,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 17,920 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,709,000 after buying an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Crestmont Private Wealth LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,745 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total value of $170,274.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,059,955.65. The trade was a 13.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total transaction of $112,788.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,579,769.95. This trade represents a 1.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,447 shares of company stock worth $386,654. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VRSN opened at $281.41 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $168.51 and a fifty-two week high of $288.95. The stock has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $252.53 and its 200 day moving average is $220.43.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders 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 presently 37.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRSN. Citigroup boosted 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. 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 report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th.

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.