VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock Holdings Lessened by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,922 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,474 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $5,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $141,129,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 544.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 391,319 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $81,003,000 after acquiring an additional 330,561 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,455,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 322.2% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 261,526 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $53,639,000 after acquiring an additional 199,583 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,665,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VRSN shares. StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Baird R W raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.8 %

VeriSign stock opened at $231.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $209.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.64. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $167.04 and a 52 week high of $232.04.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.00. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 44.06%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total value of $402,563.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,033,391.51. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

About VeriSign

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.