VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Position Lowered by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. reduced its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,074 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 156 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity at VeriSign

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 shares were sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total transaction of $402,563.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,157 shares in the company, valued at $5,033,391.51. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

VeriSign Trading Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $229.24 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $208.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.98. The stock has a market cap of $22.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66 and a beta of 0.90. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $167.04 and a 52 week high of $230.30.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 44.06% and a net margin of 50.47%.

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.