Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Trims Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 36,729 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,400 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $7,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 93.2% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 226 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in VeriSign by 138.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 420 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

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

VeriSign Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $233.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.14 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $213.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.51. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $167.04 and a 12-month high of $236.20.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

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.