Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 28.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,123 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 28,751 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.07% of VeriSign worth $13,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in VeriSign by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 272,103 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $56,042,000 after purchasing an additional 25,639 shares in the last quarter. Palo DS Manager LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $14,174,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in VeriSign by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 330,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $68,027,000 after buying an additional 111,911 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 614.0% during the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 15,672 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,228,000 after purchasing an additional 13,477 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of VRSN opened at $178.20 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $176.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $190.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89 and a beta of 0.91. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $167.04 and a 1-year high of $226.80.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $116,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,971,450. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.14, for a total value of $204,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,855.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $116,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 41,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,971,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,295 shares of company stock worth $584,887. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.