VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,008 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,442 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $22,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $222,840,000. Amundi increased its stake in VeriSign by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 702,055 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $148,604,000 after acquiring an additional 106,094 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in VeriSign by 7.3% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 693,369 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $131,712,000 after purchasing an additional 47,412 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $141,129,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 570,016 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $117,971,000 after purchasing an additional 42,465 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $253.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a PE ratio of 31.73 and a beta of 0.87. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $167.05 and a 1 year high of $257.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $231.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $205.23.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced 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 net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VRSN. StockNews.com lowered shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target 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. Robert W. Baird raised shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Baird R W raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating 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.