Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN – Get Rating) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,963 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 22.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,956 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 1,425 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter worth approximately $767,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 12,329 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,725,000 after buying an additional 1,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 14.9% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 35,029 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,793,000 after buying an additional 4,545 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.21% of the company’s stock.
Insider Activity
In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.87, for a total value of $644,610.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 656,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,050,122.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.88, for a total transaction of $25,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,536 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,558,967.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.87, for a total transaction of $644,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 656,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141,050,122.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,473 shares of company stock worth $12,975,131. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.
VeriSign Trading Up 0.3 %
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The information services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.17. VeriSign had a net margin of 47.30% and a negative return on equity of 46.13%. The company had revenue of $369.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $366.10 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. VeriSign’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms recently weighed in on VRSN. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $216.00 to $265.00 in a report on Thursday, December 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th.
VeriSign Company Profile
VeriSign, Inc provides domain name registry services and Internet infrastructure, which enables Internet navigation for many of the world’s most recognized domain names. It enables the security, stability, and resiliency of key Internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services.
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