Convergence Investment Partners LLC Acquires New Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 8,942 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 330,561 shares during the last quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 3,996.0% in the fourth quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 4,096 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 3,996 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 322.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 261,526 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $53,639,000 after purchasing an additional 199,583 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 602.6% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 11,712 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,225,000 after purchasing an additional 10,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $989,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $231.18 on Wednesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.04 and a 12 month high of $232.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.64. The company has a market capitalization of $21.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90 and a beta of 0.90.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.00. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total transaction of $402,563.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,033,391.51. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

VeriSign Company 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.