Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 736 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,009 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.09% of VeriSign worth $17,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in VeriSign by 14.7% during 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. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,090,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $220,771,000 after acquiring an additional 125,901 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in VeriSign by 4.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,056,995 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $214,073,000 after acquiring an additional 44,080 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in VeriSign by 3.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 22,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in VeriSign by 17.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 660,463 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $133,764,000 after purchasing an additional 96,676 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,875 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $116,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,088,110. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,875 shares of the business’s 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 approximately $5,999,500.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,393 shares of company stock valued at $2,759,633 over the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VRSN. StockNews.com downgraded VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their target price on VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $170.75 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $182.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.17. The stock has a market cap of $17.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98 and a beta of 0.89. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $167.04 and a fifty-two week high of $229.72.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $384.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $381.85 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 47.21% and a net margin of 55.04%. VeriSign’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 EPS.

About VeriSign

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.