VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stake Boosted by Asset Management Advisors LLC

Asset Management Advisors LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 29,195 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. VeriSign accounts for about 4.4% of Asset Management Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Asset Management Advisors LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $6,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Willis Investment Counsel increased its stake in VeriSign by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 2,214 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in VeriSign by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in VeriSign by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,643 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $521,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total value of $402,563.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,033,391.51. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.5 %

VRSN opened at $215.00 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.34. The company has a market cap of $20.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.00 and a beta of 0.90. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $167.04 and a 12-month high of $217.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on VeriSign from $210.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

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.