Quantum Portfolio Management LLC Takes $658,000 Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Quantum Portfolio Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,353 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $658,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 226 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.8% during the second quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 452 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 5.6% in the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 923 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $249.47 on Tuesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.37 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $247.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.08. The firm has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.08 and a beta of 0.77.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. The company had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. VeriSign’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $282.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total value of $592,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,033.99. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.59, for a total transaction of $1,222,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 434,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,176,274.41. This represents a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,833 shares of company stock valued at $10,564,728. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Company 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.