MQS Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

MQS Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 23.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,623 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 498 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth approximately $77,000. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth approximately $97,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 100.3% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Citigroup lowered their price target on VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 16th.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN traded up $3.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $179.90. 208,943 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 663,433. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $176.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.45. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $167.04 and a twelve month high of $220.91. The stock has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.08. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 47.21% and a net margin of 55.04%. The firm had revenue of $387.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $385.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.79 EPS. VeriSign’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.01, for a total value of $147,228.66. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $622,406.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.01, for a total transaction of $147,228.66. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $622,406.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.14, for a total value of $204,168.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,181 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,855.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,067 shares of company stock valued at $351,567 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.