JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 11,920 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 321,080 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 11,920 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $66,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hilltop Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 3rd quarter worth $515,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 66.1% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,665,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 156.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,769 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,689 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 78.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 10,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 4,508 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VRSN opened at $240.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.72 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $234.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.83. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $167.05 and a 52-week high of $258.67.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Baird R W raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at $5,500,586.25. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Company 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.