Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 14,700 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 94.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,200 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,700 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $5,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 44.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 244,304 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,408,000 after purchasing an additional 74,883 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at about $227,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 29.9% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,912 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Shariaportfolio Inc. purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,874,000. Finally, Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 0.9% during the third quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 14,460 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $185.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $167.04 and a 12-month high of $220.91.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The information services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 55.40%. The business had revenue of $390.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $390.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 2,456 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 1,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $233,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,593 shares in the company, valued at $6,382,670. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 2,456 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,368 shares of company stock valued at $1,399,920 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of VeriSign in a report on Thursday, June 27th.

VeriSign Company 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.