VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Stock Position Reduced by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG trimmed its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,539 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 5,450 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 25.2% in the third quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 68,706 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,208,000 after acquiring an additional 13,837 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 767,363 shares in the last quarter. Amiral Gestion acquired a new position in VeriSign during the third quarter worth $2,483,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 91,490 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $25,578,000 after purchasing an additional 19,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 21.4% in the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 13,362 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,844,000 after acquiring an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

VeriSign Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $249.63 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $247.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.61. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $211.79 and a 1 year high of $310.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.09 and a beta of 0.77.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total transaction of $496,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,812,499.72. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.71, for a total value of $123,857.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,613,759.23. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,833 shares of company stock worth $10,041,648. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.