VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Position Reduced by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,027 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,897 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.07% of VeriSign worth $14,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its holdings in VeriSign by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,173 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,429 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on VRSN shares. StockNews.com upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on VeriSign from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st.

VeriSign Trading Down 2.7 %

VRSN traded down $6.63 on Thursday, hitting $238.00. 170,553 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 737,453. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $237.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $208.82. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $167.05 and a twelve month high of $258.67. The firm has a market cap of $22.51 billion, a PE ratio of 29.75 and a beta of 0.87.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,500,586.25. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.