Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 40,153 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,310,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN traded up $2.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $248.13. 567,089 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 690,317. The company has a market cap of $23.47 billion, a PE ratio of 31.02 and a beta of 0.87. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $167.05 and a 52-week high of $249.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $227.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.24.

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VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.00. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of VeriSign from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup boosted 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 upgraded VeriSign from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.