VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Purchased by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel boosted its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,961 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Troy Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $109,040,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 836.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 473,187 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $84,133,000 after buying an additional 422,676 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $67,914,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 94.7% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 643,173 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $121,888,000 after buying an additional 312,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 44.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 788,687 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $139,771,000 after buying an additional 242,884 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 2,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $466,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,615,990. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 3,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $699,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,177,060. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 2,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $466,640.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,615,990. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN stock opened at $188.10 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $182.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.82. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.04 and a 12 month high of $220.91. The company has a market cap of $18.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11 and a beta of 0.90.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The information services provider reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.08. VeriSign had a net margin of 55.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.63%. The firm had revenue of $387.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $385.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.79 EPS. VeriSign’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis.

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.