JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 134,907 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 28.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 333,000 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 134,907 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.35% of VeriSign worth $63,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in VeriSign by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,472,803 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $261,864,000 after acquiring an additional 11,606 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 44.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 788,687 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $139,771,000 after purchasing an additional 242,884 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 7.3% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 693,369 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $131,712,000 after purchasing an additional 47,412 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in VeriSign by 2.6% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 660,191 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $117,382,000 after purchasing an additional 17,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Troy Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in VeriSign in the second quarter valued at about $109,040,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.3 %

VRSN traded up $0.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $205.62. The company had a trading volume of 850,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 881,930. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $190.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.57. The company has a market capitalization of $19.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.91 and a beta of 0.89. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $167.04 and a one year high of $210.22.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The information services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $390.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $390.19 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 45.59% and a net margin of 55.74%. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total transaction of $402,563.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,033,391.51. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 1,228 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $233,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,382,670. This trade represents a 3.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $210.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut VeriSign from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Baird R W raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded VeriSign from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th.

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.