National Bank of Canada FI Has $11.22 Million Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 60.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 55,674 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,931 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $11,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 52.0% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 152 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,721 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in VeriSign by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 8,571 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,736,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in VeriSign by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,129 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.6 %

VRSN stock opened at $168.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.90. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $167.04 and a 1-year high of $229.72.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.06. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 47.21% and a net margin of 55.04%. The company had revenue of $384.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $381.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on VRSN shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.19, for a total transaction of $558,296.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,895 shares in the company, valued at $5,999,500.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Todd B. Strubbe sold 9,423 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.21, for a total transaction of $1,820,617.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,552,768.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.19, for a total transaction of $558,296.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 30,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,999,500.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,139 shares of company stock valued at $2,731,971. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.