Summit Global Investments Acquires 10,774 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 192.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,377 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,774 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments' holdings in VeriSign were worth $3,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRSN. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 14.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,826,836 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $369,989,000 after acquiring an additional 233,811 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 13.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,090,068 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $220,771,000 after acquiring an additional 125,901 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 4.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,056,995 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $214,073,000 after acquiring an additional 44,080 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 772,330 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $159,069,000 after acquiring an additional 22,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 17.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 660,463 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $133,764,000 after acquiring an additional 96,676 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on VeriSign from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.05, for a total transaction of $122,017.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,816 shares in the company, valued at $6,930,124.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other VeriSign news, COO Todd B. Strubbe sold 9,423 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.21, for a total value of $1,820,617.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,551 shares in the company, valued at $21,552,768.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.05, for a total value of $122,017.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,816 shares in the company, valued at $6,930,124.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,752 shares of company stock worth $2,853,989 over the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VeriSign stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $168.32. The stock had a trading volume of 898,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 640,345. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $167.04 and a fifty-two week high of $229.72. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $187.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.68 and a beta of 0.89.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.06. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 47.21% and a net margin of 55.04%. The company had revenue of $384.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $381.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis.

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.

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