VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Purchased by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 40.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,683 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,227 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at about $300,249,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 32.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,003 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $894,414,000 after buying an additional 767,363 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 161.4% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 860,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $248,388,000 after buying an additional 531,041 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter valued at approximately $124,066,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in VeriSign by 496.3% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 352,481 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $101,797,000 after acquiring an additional 293,373 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total value of $592,175.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,033.99. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.14, for a total transaction of $1,240,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 453,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,516,353.46. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 40,833 shares of company stock worth $10,041,648 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.4%

VRSN stock opened at $250.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $23.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $247.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $262.27. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.01 and a 52 week high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research downgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $282.00.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign’s registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.