Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,807 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,765 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of VeriSign worth $24,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 544.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 391,319 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $81,003,000 after buying an additional 330,561 shares during the period. Birch Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 3,996.0% in the 4th quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 4,096 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $848,000 after acquiring an additional 3,996 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 322.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 261,526 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $53,639,000 after acquiring an additional 199,583 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,462 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,235,000 after acquiring an additional 2,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 602.6% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 11,712 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,225,000 after purchasing an additional 10,045 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of VRSN stock traded up $4.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $247.13. 626,259 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 740,225. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $167.05 and a 1 year high of $258.67. The firm has a market cap of $23.38 billion, a PE ratio of 30.89 and a beta of 0.87. The company's 50 day moving average is $238.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.68.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on VeriSign from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th.

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.