VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Stock Position Decreased by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 56.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 19,089 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 24,439 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $4,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,900,000. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $149,686,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,169 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $976,700,000 after purchasing an additional 496,674 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its position in VeriSign by 191.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 626,570 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $152,225,000 after purchasing an additional 411,728 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in VeriSign by 1,035.6% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 420,830 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $117,651,000 after purchasing an additional 383,771 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total value of $141,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at $10,363,670.54. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 439,339 shares in the company, valued at $130,690,172.33. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $318.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.25.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $277.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $25.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.68 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $278.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.66. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The firm had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. VeriSign’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About VeriSign

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.