Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Has $65.09 Million Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH cut its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 232,833 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 31,865 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.25% of VeriSign worth $65,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 32.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,003 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $894,414,000 after purchasing an additional 767,363 shares in the last quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 25.2% in the third quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 68,706 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,208,000 after purchasing an additional 13,837 shares during the last quarter. Amiral Gestion purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the third quarter valued at about $2,483,000. Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 21.4% during the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 13,362 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,844,000 after buying an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 103.6% during the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 64,938 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $18,754,000 after buying an additional 33,041 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on VeriSign in a research note 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. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Two 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.00.

Insider Activity

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

VeriSign Stock Performance

VRSN opened at $252.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.43 billion, a PE ratio of 29.46 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $247.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $262.77. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.37 and a 52-week high of $310.60.

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

VeriSign Company Profile

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.