Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 2,142 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund trimmed its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 47.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,420 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,142 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 127.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 272 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. GraniteShares Advisors LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $509,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 $1,059,955.65. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.40, for a total value of $1,402,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 553,625 shares in the company, valued at $155,236,450. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,002 shares of company stock valued at $7,013,599. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $285.03 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $275.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.76 billion, a PE ratio of 34.84 and a beta of 0.77. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $172.49 and a fifty-two week high of $288.95.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10. The business had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 41.37% and a net margin of 50.23%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.92 earnings per share.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a — dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Company 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.