Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,394,735 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 118,442 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.82% of VeriSign worth $2,151,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.
VeriSign Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN traded up $2.95 during trading on Monday, hitting $253.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 767,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 722,547. The company has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a PE ratio of 31.73 and a beta of 0.87. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $167.05 and a fifty-two week high of $256.35. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $231.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $205.23.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.00. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%.
Insider Activity at VeriSign
In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. This trade 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 accessible through this link. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of VeriSign from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded VeriSign from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th.
Read Our Latest Research Report on VRSN
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.
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