Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 169,345 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 9,027 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.16% of VeriSign worth $38,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 174.3% in the 2nd quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 384 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 50.6% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,874 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the second quarter worth $2,377,000. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 3.2% during the second quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 30.8% during the second quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 147,190 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $33,261,000 after buying an additional 34,645 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.95% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $210.12 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $188.44 and a one year high of $229.72. The firm has a market cap of $21.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $204.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.88.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The information services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $376.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $378.31 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.38% and a negative return on equity of 45.68%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 6th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of VeriSign from $252.00 to $249.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.69, for a total transaction of $25,086.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,051,969.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 589 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.85, for a total value of $115,355.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,937,750. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.69, for a total transaction of $25,086.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,173 shares in the company, valued at $5,051,969.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,339 shares of company stock worth $2,360,522. Company insiders own 0.94% 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 the 13 internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.