Cypress Advisory Group LLC Invests $218,000 in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Cypress Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,053 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 127.2% in the fourth 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. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock opened at $282.12 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $245.99 and a 200-day moving average of $215.78. The company has a market cap of $26.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.27 and a beta of 0.87. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $167.05 and a one year high of $288.60.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th.

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.