VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Bought by Troy Asset Management Ltd

Troy Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 49.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 914,543 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 301,267 shares during the quarter. VeriSign makes up 6.3% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Troy Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.95% of VeriSign worth $189,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its position in VeriSign by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,500,586.25. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $250.92 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $230.38 and its 200-day moving average is $204.39. The company has a market cap of $23.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37 and a beta of 0.87. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $167.05 and a 52-week high of $256.35.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.00. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Baird R W raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th.

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.