VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,735 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,103 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $11,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 20.2% in the second 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 during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management boosted its position in VeriSign by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 452 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 923 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 51.5% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total value of $592,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,577 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,033.99. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.14, for a total value of $1,240,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 453,439 shares in the company, valued at $112,516,353.46. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,833 shares of company stock valued at $10,041,648. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $250.60 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $247.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $262.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.21 and a beta of 0.77. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.01 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis.

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.