Greenline Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Greenline Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 70.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 829 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,992 shares during the period. Greenline Partners LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 322.2% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 261,526 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $53,639,000 after acquiring an additional 199,583 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,462 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 2,218 shares during the period. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $600,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $989,000. Finally, Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,746,661,000 after buying an additional 455,844 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VRSN shares. StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $281.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.42 billion, a PE ratio of 35.18 and a beta of 0.80. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $168.51 and a fifty-two week high of $288.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $252.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $220.43.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders 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 (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,059,955.65. This trade represents a 13.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John Calys sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.97, for a total value of $112,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,447 shares of company stock valued at $386,654 over the last ninety days. 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.