Seven Eight Capital LP Sells 1,963 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Seven Eight Capital LP decreased its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 49.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,016 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,963 shares during the quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in VeriSign by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 272,103 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $56,042,000 after buying an additional 25,639 shares during the period. Palo DS Manager LLC bought a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $14,174,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in VeriSign by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 330,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $68,027,000 after purchasing an additional 111,911 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 614.0% during the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 15,672 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,228,000 after purchasing an additional 13,477 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Thursday, June 27th.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.01, for a total transaction of $147,228.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $622,406.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 1,200 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.14, for a total transaction of $204,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,181 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,855.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.01, for a total transaction of $147,228.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $622,406.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,067 shares of company stock worth $351,567 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of VRSN stock traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $174.97. 881,620 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 660,870. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.04 and a 12 month high of $220.91. The stock has a market cap of $17.43 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $176.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.58.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.06. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 47.21% and a net margin of 55.04%. The business had revenue of $384.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $381.85 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. VeriSign’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

About VeriSign

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.