J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Invests $1.80 Million in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 8,682 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,797,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 127.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VRSN shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on VeriSign from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at $5,500,586.25. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN stock opened at $248.08 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $241.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.35 billion, a PE ratio of 31.01 and a beta of 0.87. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.05 and a 12 month high of $258.67.

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

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.

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