VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock Holdings Lessened by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 0.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,027,696 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 16,094 shares during the period. VeriSign accounts for about 0.9% of Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $538,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in VeriSign by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 392,098 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $69,717,000 after purchasing an additional 18,270 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in VeriSign by 59.6% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 32,223 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,729,000 after purchasing an additional 12,039 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at $67,914,000. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in VeriSign by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 10,996 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in VeriSign by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 121,457 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $21,595,000 after purchasing an additional 11,853 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of VRSN opened at $182.81 on Monday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $167.04 and a 52-week high of $220.91. The company has a market capitalization of $17.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.66.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The information services provider reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.08. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 55.40%. The business had revenue of $387.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $385.80 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.79 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 16th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Thursday, June 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 3,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $699,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,177,060. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.