Franklin Resources Inc. Has $24.38 Million Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,807 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,765 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.12% of VeriSign worth $24,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

VeriSign Trading Down 6.0 %

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

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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 report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Baird R W raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

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.