Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Boosts Stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 232,307 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 833 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.24% of VeriSign worth $48,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its stake in VeriSign by 93.2% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 226 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in VeriSign by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter worth $76,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 138.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 420 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRSN. StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Baird R W raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total transaction of $402,563.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,157 shares in the company, valued at $5,033,391.51. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $222.24 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $205.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.84. The firm has a market cap of $21.36 billion, a PE ratio of 27.78 and a beta of 0.90. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $167.04 and a 1-year high of $224.00.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.00. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 44.06%.

VeriSign 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.