Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 282,837 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,784 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.29% of VeriSign worth $58,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 66.1% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in VeriSign by 78.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 10,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 4,508 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the third quarter worth $792,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in VeriSign by 10.7% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,947 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 35.5% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 72,924 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,853,000 after purchasing an additional 19,111 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 6.0 %

VRSN stock opened at $240.20 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $22.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $234.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.20. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.05 and a 12 month high of $258.67.

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

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.