Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Trims Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 206,813 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,973 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.22% of VeriSign worth $57,819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 20.2% during the second quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 226 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 452 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 923 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.00.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $250.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $247.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $262.27. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.01 and a 1 year high of $310.60.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,812,499.72. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.71, for a total value of $123,857.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,613,759.23. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

VeriSign 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.