VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 68,938 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 6,802 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in VeriSign were worth $14,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% in the fourth 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 acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Baird R W raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $244.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56 and a beta of 0.87. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $167.05 and a one year high of $245.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $226.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.12.

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

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.