VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by Tredje AP fonden

Tredje AP fonden reduced its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,569 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,568 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 69.8% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,500,586.25. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $238.35 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $167.04 and a 1 year high of $242.23. The company has a market cap of $22.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $223.32 and a 200-day moving average of $200.07.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.00. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Baird R W upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

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.