Stevens Capital Management LP Has $2.78 Million Stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Stevens Capital Management LP grew its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 243.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,489 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,558 shares during the quarter. VeriSign comprises 0.7% of Stevens Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 272,103 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $56,042,000 after buying an additional 25,639 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 142.0% during the 4th quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 29,874 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,153,000 after purchasing an additional 17,529 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 72,544 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $14,941,000 after buying an additional 9,888 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP boosted its position in VeriSign by 41.4% in the third quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 1,888 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 85,196 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $17,547,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN traded down $7.20 on Friday, hitting $175.48. 1,931,522 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 607,025. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71 and a beta of 0.88. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $174.51 and a 52 week high of $229.72. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $189.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $200.25.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.06. VeriSign had a net margin of 54.74% and a negative return on equity of 46.56%. The business had revenue of $384.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $381.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. VeriSign’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.05, for a total transaction of $122,017.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,930,124.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.05, for a total transaction of $122,017.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,930,124.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Todd B. Strubbe sold 9,423 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.21, for a total transaction of $1,820,617.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 111,551 shares in the company, valued at $21,552,768.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,877 shares of company stock worth $2,878,864. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

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.