Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires Shares of 19,577 VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 19,577 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,032,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 152 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its stake in VeriSign by 158.6% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 181 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 251.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 355 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. CX Institutional acquired a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $97,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ VRSN traded up $0.65 on Tuesday, hitting $169.56. 733,946 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 641,702. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $167.04 and a fifty-two week high of $229.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $185.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.90. The company has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83 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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $384.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $381.85 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 47.21% and a net margin of 55.04%. The firm's revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $116,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,569 shares in the company, valued at $8,088,110. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,875 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.19, for a total value of $558,296.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,999,500.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. 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 42,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,088,110. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,139 shares of company stock worth $2,731,971. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.