Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $944,000 Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 83.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,562 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,077 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in VeriSign were worth $944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew 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 during the period. Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in VeriSign by 93.2% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 226 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake 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 during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in VeriSign by 138.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 420 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock traded down $2.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $231.87. 978,529 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 762,660. The stock's fifty day moving average is $211.65 and its 200 day moving average is $193.50. The stock has a market cap of $21.93 billion, a PE ratio of 28.98 and a beta of 0.90. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.04 and a 12 month high of $236.20.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on VRSN. Baird R W upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of VeriSign from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total value of $402,563.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,157 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,033,391.51. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign 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.