EP Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,170 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $792,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 291.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 176 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 117.2% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 202 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 93.2% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 226 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $200.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 653,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 662,956. The firm's 50 day moving average is $185.34 and its 200 day moving average is $181.69. The company has a market cap of $19.22 billion, a PE ratio of 23.25 and a beta of 0.92. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $167.04 and a 52-week high of $220.91.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The information services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 45.59% and a net margin of 55.74%. The firm had revenue of $390.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $390.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total value of $402,563.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,157 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,033,391.51. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 1,228 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $233,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,382,670. This trade represents a 3.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,776 shares of company stock worth $1,102,524. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised VeriSign from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday. StockNews.com raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Baird R W raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday.

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.