Troy Asset Management Ltd Purchases 301,267 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Troy Asset Management Ltd increased its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 49.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 914,543 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 301,267 shares during the quarter. VeriSign makes up approximately 6.3% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $189,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $222,840,000. Amundi lifted its position in VeriSign by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 702,055 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $148,604,000 after buying an additional 106,094 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in VeriSign by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 693,369 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $131,712,000 after acquiring an additional 47,412 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $141,129,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 570,016 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $117,971,000 after acquiring an additional 42,465 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $250.92 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $230.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.39. The company has a market capitalization of $23.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.37 and a beta of 0.87. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $167.05 and a 52 week high of $256.35.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.00. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird raised VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Baird R W raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.