VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 202,628 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 15,659 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $50,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in VeriSign by 429.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in VeriSign by 788.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in VeriSign by 120.8% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.23, for a total value of $67,307.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,706,010.73. The trade was a 0.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total transaction of $878,097.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 422,839 shares in the company, valued at $112,513,229.51. The trade was a 0.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,300 shares of company stock valued at $7,125,942. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.0%

VeriSign stock opened at $277.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $278.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $258.66. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $312.48. The stock has a market cap of $25.26 billion, a PE ratio of 30.68 and a beta of 0.71.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The company had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wedbush initiated coverage on VeriSign in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $318.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.25.

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.