VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stake Lowered by Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda

Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda reduced its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 60.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 472 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 729 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $97,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRSN. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 13.5% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 3.0% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,671 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in VeriSign in the third quarter worth $853,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in VeriSign in the third quarter worth $2,788,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 42.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 88,058 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $17,834,000 after purchasing an additional 26,371 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.01, for a total transaction of $147,228.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $622,406.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.14, for a total value of $204,168.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,855.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.01, for a total transaction of $147,228.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $622,406.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,295 shares of company stock valued at $584,887. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock opened at $178.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $17.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.89 and a beta of 0.91. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $167.04 and a fifty-two week high of $226.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $176.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.95.

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

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.