VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd cut its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 37.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,000 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew 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 purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $238.35 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $200.33. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $167.04 and a fifty-two week high of $242.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.79 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Baird R W raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird raised VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th.

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.