VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Position Trimmed by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 59.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,247 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,700 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.9 %

VRSN stock opened at $244.51 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $167.05 and a 12-month high of $245.67. The company has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $226.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.12.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on VRSN. StockNews.com downgraded shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Baird R W upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup increased 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of 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 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.