Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Takes Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,606 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,772,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,112,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 72,544 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $14,941,000 after purchasing an additional 9,888 shares in the last quarter. Essex LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Essex LLC now owns 25,074 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,164,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 9,883 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,039,000 after buying an additional 1,583 shares during the period. Finally, Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at about $587,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on VRSN. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of VeriSign from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded down $4.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $185.43. 484,075 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 565,508. The company's fifty day moving average is $192.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.47. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $185.19 and a fifty-two week high of $229.72. The stock has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41 and a beta of 0.88.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The information services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.09. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 46.56% and a net margin of 54.74%. The firm had revenue of $380.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $381.01 million. Research analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 7.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.58, for a total transaction of $407,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 504,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $102,666,615.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.58, for a total transaction of $407,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 504,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,666,615.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $116,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 41,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,971,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,002 shares of company stock worth $3,714,154. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.