Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Makes New Investment in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 169,157 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $35,009,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super owned approximately 0.18% of VeriSign as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% in 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 during the period. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its position 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 buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.3 %

VRSN stock traded up $0.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $246.67. 628,305 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 744,439. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $240.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.83 and a beta of 0.87. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $167.05 and a 52-week high of $258.67.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign 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.