UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Lowers Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd decreased its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,102 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,096 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $4,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,173 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,429 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $250.92 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $230.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.39. The company has a market capitalization of $23.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37 and a beta of 0.87. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $167.05 and a fifty-two week high of $256.35.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Baird R W upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup increased 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 upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st.

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.