Swiss National Bank Decreases Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 290,300 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 10,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of VeriSign worth $59,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 52.0% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 152 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 3.6% during the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,721 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 0.8% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 8,571 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,129 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN traded up $0.59 during trading on Monday, reaching $168.91. The company had a trading volume of 666,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 640,641. The company has a fifty day moving average of $186.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $198.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75 and a beta of 0.89. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.04 and a 12 month high of $229.72.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VRSN shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $119,737.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,427,122.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $119,737.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,427,122.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Todd B. Strubbe sold 9,423 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.21, for a total transaction of $1,820,617.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 111,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,552,768.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,752 shares of company stock valued at $2,853,989. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.