North Star Asset Management Inc. Reduces Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

North Star Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,750 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 230 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 52.0% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 152 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its holdings in VeriSign by 158.6% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 181 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 91.7% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 347 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 251.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 355 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN traded up $0.26 on Monday, reaching $184.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 94,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 567,240. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $200.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.57 and a 52-week high of $229.72. The company has a market cap of $18.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.25 and a beta of 0.88.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The information services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.09. VeriSign had a net margin of 54.74% and a negative return on equity of 46.56%. The firm had revenue of $380.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $381.01 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 7.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRSN. Citigroup cut their price objective on VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $116,660.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,088,110. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.19, for a total transaction of $558,296.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 30,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,999,500.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $116,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,088,110. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,877 shares of company stock worth $2,878,864. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.