Swiss National Bank Trims Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 275,200 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 15,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of VeriSign worth $52,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 139.4% in the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 39,500 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,486,000 after purchasing an additional 23,000 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at $1,494,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,602 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,158,000 after purchasing an additional 9,487 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth $223,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 19,128 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,625,000 after acquiring an additional 3,590 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded up $2.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $177.76. The stock had a trading volume of 504,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 629,705. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $175.32 and a 200-day moving average of $186.93. The company has a market capitalization of $17.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84 and a beta of 0.90. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $167.04 and a 12-month high of $220.91.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 1,200 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.14, for a total value of $204,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,855.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.14, for a total value of $204,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,855.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.01, for a total transaction of $147,228.66. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $622,406.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,067 shares of company stock worth $351,567. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRSN. StockNews.com cut shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of 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 reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Thursday, June 27th.

VeriSign 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.