Cerity Partners LLC Grows Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 33.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,481 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,241 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $7,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted 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 during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock traded up $3.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $250.23. The stock had a trading volume of 557,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 742,457. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $238.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.24. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $167.05 and a 52 week high of $258.67. The stock has a market cap of $23.67 billion, a PE ratio of 31.28 and a beta of 0.87.

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, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.