LPL Financial LLC Boosts Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 47.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,376 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,147 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $9,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% in the 4th 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 purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 69.8% in 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 period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRSN. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company 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 target price on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th.

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VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN traded up $9.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $244.63. 1,414,875 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 739,649. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $167.05 and a 1-year high of $258.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.14 billion, a PE ratio of 30.58 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50-day moving average price is $237.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.82.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value 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. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.