Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN – Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,245 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $462,000.
Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in VeriSign by 14.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,826,836 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $369,989,000 after purchasing an additional 233,811 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,090,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $220,771,000 after buying an additional 125,901 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in VeriSign by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,056,995 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $214,073,000 after buying an additional 44,080 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at $207,161,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in VeriSign by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 772,330 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $159,069,000 after buying an additional 22,796 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
VeriSign Trading Down 0.5 %
VeriSign stock opened at $171.17 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.04 and a 12 month high of $228.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.17. The firm has a market cap of $17.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03 and a beta of 0.89.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.06. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 47.21% and a net margin of 55.04%. The company had revenue of $384.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $381.85 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. VeriSign’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th.
Read Our Latest Report on VRSN
Insider Transactions at VeriSign
In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,875 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.19, for a total transaction of $558,296.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 30,895 shares in the company, valued at $5,999,500.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.14, for a total transaction of $204,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,855.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,875 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.19, for a total transaction of $558,296.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 30,895 shares in the company, valued at $5,999,500.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,170 shares of company stock worth $1,143,183 over the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
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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