Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 282,837 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 32,784 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.29% of VeriSign worth $58,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 66.1% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in VeriSign by 78.2% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 10,276 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 4,508 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the third quarter valued at about $792,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in VeriSign by 35.5% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 72,924 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $13,853,000 after purchasing an additional 19,111 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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VeriSign Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of VRSN traded up $4.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $247.13. The company had a trading volume of 626,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 740,225. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $167.05 and a 52-week high of $258.67. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $238.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.68. The firm has a market cap of $23.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign 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 transaction of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,500,586.25. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.84% of the stock is 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.