VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Purchased by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments boosted its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 45.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,234 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,906 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in VeriSign were worth $7,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in VeriSign by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,582,645 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,056,268,000 after buying an additional 68,355 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 1.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,932,243 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,135,632,000 after acquiring an additional 73,931 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 32.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,003 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $894,414,000 after acquiring an additional 767,363 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,326,799 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $670,685,000 after acquiring an additional 44,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth about $300,249,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.14, for a total transaction of $1,240,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 453,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,516,353.46. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,333 shares of company stock worth $9,449,473. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research downgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.00.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock opened at $244.21 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $211.79 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.64 billion, a PE ratio of 28.46 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $261.44.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign’s registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.