Weaver Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Weaver Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 60.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,959 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,995 shares during the quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Palo DS Manager LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,174,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 330,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $68,027,000 after buying an additional 111,911 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $204,000. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its position in VeriSign by 614.0% during the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 15,672 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,228,000 after acquiring an additional 13,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 21.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 107,224 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $20,320,000 after buying an additional 19,215 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 16th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a report on Thursday, June 27th.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 3,684 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $699,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 37,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,177,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $184.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.33. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.04 and a 12 month high of $220.91.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The information services provider reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $387.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $385.80 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 55.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.63%. VeriSign’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.79 EPS.

VeriSign Company 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.