VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by Pitcairn Co.

Pitcairn Co. lowered its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,336 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 67 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $222,840,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,129,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in VeriSign by 544.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 391,319 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $81,003,000 after acquiring an additional 330,561 shares in the last quarter. Troy Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Troy Asset Management Ltd now owns 914,543 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $189,274,000 after purchasing an additional 301,267 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 322.2% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 261,526 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $53,639,000 after acquiring an additional 199,583 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $240.20 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $22.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03 and a beta of 0.87. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.05 and a 12 month high of $258.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $234.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.20.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Baird R W raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

VeriSign Profile

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.