VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stake Decreased by Andra AP fonden

Andra AP fonden trimmed its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,500 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $8,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 127.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in VeriSign by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $240.47 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.04 and a 12 month high of $242.23. The company has a market capitalization of $22.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.06 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $220.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.24.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.00. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped 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. StockNews.com downgraded VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Baird R W upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th.

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.