Andra AP fonden Has $3.88 Million Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Andra AP fonden trimmed its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 88.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,619 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 119,161 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden's holdings in VeriSign were worth $3,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Convergence Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 48.6% in the 1st quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 21,461 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,330,000 after buying an additional 7,020 shares during the period. Florida Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,584 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,636,000 after buying an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.5% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,885 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in VeriSign by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 410,773 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $102,029,000 after buying an additional 26,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 9.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,418 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $849,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Wedbush started coverage on VeriSign in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $318.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $325.25.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total transaction of $141,770.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 26,300 shares of company stock worth $7,125,942 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $262.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $277.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $258.96.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The business had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign 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.

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