KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $22.29 Million Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 107,680 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $22,285,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned approximately 0.11% of VeriSign at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,173 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in VeriSign by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,429 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VRSN shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Baird R W upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $244.51 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $226.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.24. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $167.05 and a one year high of $245.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.13 billion, a PE ratio of 30.56 and a beta of 0.87.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

About VeriSign

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.