VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,318 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 544.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 391,319 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $81,003,000 after acquiring an additional 330,561 shares during the last quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 3,996.0% during the 4th quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 4,096 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 3,996 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 602.6% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 11,712 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,225,000 after purchasing an additional 10,045 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $989,000. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,345,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total value of $402,563.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,033,391.51. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock opened at $222.24 on Tuesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.04 and a 12 month high of $224.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $205.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.84. The company has a market cap of $21.36 billion, a PE ratio of 27.78 and a beta of 0.90.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 EPS 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.