Clarius Group LLC Sells 125 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Clarius Group LLC cut its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,208 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,161,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 94.7% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 643,173 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $121,888,000 after purchasing an additional 312,882 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 245.4% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 334,652 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $63,420,000 after purchasing an additional 237,770 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 38.9% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 546,308 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $103,531,000 after purchasing an additional 153,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 59.2% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 316,132 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $64,987,000 after purchasing an additional 117,597 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

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 stock was 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 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction of $204,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,855.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 3,684 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $699,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,774 shares in the company, valued at $7,177,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRSN. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of VeriSign in a report on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com lowered VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 16th.

VeriSign Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:VRSN traded down $2.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $175.01. 462,182 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 683,104. The company has a market capitalization of $17.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50 and a beta of 0.90. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $167.04 and a twelve month high of $220.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $178.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.87.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The information services provider reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.08. VeriSign had a net margin of 55.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.63%. The firm had revenue of $387.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $385.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.79 EPS. VeriSign’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis.

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.