Northstar Advisory Group LLC Purchases 2,292 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Northstar Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 100.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,564 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,292 shares during the period. Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth $300,249,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 32.9% in 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 last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in VeriSign by 161.4% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 860,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $248,388,000 after acquiring an additional 531,041 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter worth about $124,066,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 496.3% in the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 352,481 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $101,797,000 after acquiring an additional 293,373 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $251.54 on Tuesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $209.79 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $23.32 billion, a PE ratio of 29.32 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $247.34 and its 200-day moving average is $261.84.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total transaction of $592,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,577 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,033.99. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.14, for a total value of $1,240,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 453,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,516,353.46. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 40,833 shares of company stock worth $10,041,648 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.