VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Purchased by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 8.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,961 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 291.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 176 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 117.2% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 202 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 327 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $188.10 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $18.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11 and a beta of 0.90. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $167.04 and a 1-year high of $220.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.82.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The information services provider reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $387.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $385.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.79 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 2,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $466,640.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,615,990. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 2,456 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $466,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,615,990. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 3,684 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $699,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,177,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a report on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 16th.

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.