MML Investors Services LLC Acquires 10,045 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 602.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,712 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,045 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 35.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 72,924 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $13,853,000 after acquiring an additional 19,111 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 10.7% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,947 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,459,000 after buying an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter worth $792,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 33.0% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 157,677 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $29,952,000 after purchasing an additional 39,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in VeriSign by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 385,795 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $73,286,000 after buying an additional 40,800 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on VRSN. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Baird R W raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 1,228 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $233,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of VeriSign 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,157 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,033,391.51. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,776 shares of company stock worth $1,102,524. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $195.21. 605,048 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 659,792. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.76 billion, a PE ratio of 22.70 and a beta of 0.92. The business's 50-day moving average is $186.46 and its 200-day moving average is $182.61. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $167.04 and a 12-month high of $209.47.

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

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.