Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 13,410 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 20.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 53,166 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 13,410 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in VeriSign were worth $14,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 112.5% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, North Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 239.0% in the 3rd quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 139 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.71, for a total transaction of $123,857.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,613 shares in the company, valued at $7,613,759.23. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total transaction of $496,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,812,499.72. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 37,999 shares of company stock worth $9,367,804 over the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

VeriSign Stock Down 3.0%

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $243.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.39 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $247.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.38. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $216.43 and a twelve month high of $310.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Zacks Research cut VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.00.

VeriSign Profile

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign’s registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.