Ninety One SA PTY Ltd Acquires 801 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,109 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 93.2% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 226 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew 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 during the last quarter. Tobam raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 61.1% during the third quarter. Tobam now owns 311 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 138.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 420 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at $76,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.1 %

VRSN stock opened at $218.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $202.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $189.61. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $167.04 and a 12-month high of $219.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on VRSN shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird raised VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the 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 owns 26,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,033,391.51. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.84% of the stock is owned by 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.