VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,326 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 789 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $3,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 62.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 291.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 176 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in VeriSign by 15.3% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 28,569 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,080,000 after buying an additional 3,790 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in VeriSign by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,988 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $709,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $97,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $193.44 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $186.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.75. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $167.04 and a 1-year high of $208.04. The firm has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49 and a beta of 0.92.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The information services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $390.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $390.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 55.74% and a negative return on equity of 45.59%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total value of $402,563.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,157 shares in the company, valued at $5,033,391.51. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 1,228 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $233,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,593 shares in the company, valued at $6,382,670. This trade represents a 3.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,776 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,524. 0.84% of the stock is 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.