Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Purchases 5,781 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,146 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,781 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.14% of VeriSign worth $27,556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 127.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 69.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on VRSN. Baird R W raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut VeriSign from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded VeriSign from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th.

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VeriSign Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded down $3.82 on Friday, reaching $250.92. 746,822 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 722,364. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $230.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.56. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.05 and a 12 month high of $256.35. The company has a market cap of $23.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37 and a beta of 0.87.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 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 at VeriSign

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the company'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 value of $103,592.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.