Assetmark Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 847.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,528 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,206 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its position in VeriSign by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird raised VeriSign from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Baird R W raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of VeriSign from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN traded down $2.04 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $233.56. The stock had a trading volume of 593,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 805,578. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.04 and a 12 month high of $242.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.09 billion, a PE ratio of 29.20 and a beta of 0.87. The company's 50-day moving average is $222.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $199.44.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%.

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.