Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 40,153 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,310,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in VeriSign by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,701,154 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $352,071,000 after purchasing an additional 35,326 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,284,759 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $265,894,000 after buying an additional 116,833 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $222,840,000. Troy Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 49.1% in the 4th quarter. Troy Asset Management Ltd now owns 914,543 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $189,274,000 after acquiring an additional 301,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in VeriSign by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 702,055 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $148,604,000 after acquiring an additional 106,094 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
VeriSign Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $248.08 on Wednesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $167.05 and a 1 year high of $258.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.54. The company has a market cap of $23.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.01 and a beta of 0.87.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
VRSN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upped 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. StockNews.com upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on VeriSign
Insider Transactions at VeriSign
In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of VeriSign 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 owns 23,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.
About VeriSign
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRSN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report).
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider VeriSign, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and VeriSign wasn't on the list.
While VeriSign currently has a Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
MarketBeat just released its list of 10 cheap stocks that have been overlooked by the market and may be seriously undervalued. Enter your email address and below to see which companies made the list.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
