NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Has $1.94 Million Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 76.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,190 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,124 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in VeriSign by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,582,645 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,056,268,000 after purchasing an additional 68,355 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 1.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,932,243 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,135,632,000 after buying an additional 73,931 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 32.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,003 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $894,414,000 after acquiring an additional 767,363 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,326,799 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $670,685,000 after acquiring an additional 44,751 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in VeriSign in the second quarter valued at approximately $300,249,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.00.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN stock opened at $248.12 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $247.31 and its 200-day moving average is $262.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.00 billion, a PE ratio of 28.92 and a beta of 0.77. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.37 and a 1 year high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 EPS.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total value of $496,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,099 shares in the company, valued at $102,812,499.72. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.71, for a total transaction of $123,857.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,613,759.23. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,833 shares of company stock valued at $10,041,648. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign’s registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.