VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,729 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,400 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $7,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $141,129,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 544.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 391,319 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $81,003,000 after purchasing an additional 330,561 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the third quarter worth approximately $46,455,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 322.2% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 261,526 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $53,639,000 after purchasing an additional 199,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the third quarter worth $35,665,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $233.15 on Tuesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $167.04 and a one year high of $236.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.14 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $213.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.51.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 26,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,033,391.51. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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.