VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stake Boosted by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 75.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,641 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,513 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in VeriSign were worth $6,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 127.2% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased 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 worth $52,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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Insider Activity

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock traded down $4.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $245.93. 603,078 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 742,447. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $239.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $210.52. The firm has a market cap of $23.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.74 and a beta of 0.87. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $167.05 and a 1 year high of $258.67.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share 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%.

About VeriSign

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.