SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN – Free Report) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 72,207 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,933,000.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 872 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthCollab LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 312 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts have recently commented on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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. Wedbush began coverage on shares of VeriSign in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $318.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.25.
Insider Activity at VeriSign
In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total transaction of $1,355,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,538,548.90. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total transaction of $141,770.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at $10,363,670.54. This represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 26,300 shares of company stock worth $7,125,942 in the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
VeriSign Stock Down 0.0%
Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $277.61 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $278.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.66. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $312.48. The firm has a market cap of $25.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.68 and a beta of 0.71.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current fiscal 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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