VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,922 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,474 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $5,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 40.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,984 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,226,000 after acquiring an additional 4,850 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 138.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 420 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Shariaportfolio Inc. purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter valued at $1,874,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 29.9% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,912 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter valued at $227,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $231.18 on Wednesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.04 and a 12 month high of $232.04. The company has a market capitalization of $22.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $209.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.64.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 EPS 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 44.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total value of $402,563.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,033,391.51. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the subject of several 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. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th.

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.