Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Makes New $349,000 Investment in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,685 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $349,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 127.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Baird R W raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of VeriSign from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of 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 research report on Monday, December 9th.

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VeriSign Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of VRSN traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $235.60. 712,692 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 803,933. The firm's fifty day moving average is $221.53 and its 200 day moving average is $199.18. The company has a market cap of $22.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.45 and a beta of 0.87. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $167.04 and a fifty-two week high of $242.23.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.