Headlands Technologies LLC Boosts Stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 47.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,471 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,157 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $5,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,161,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 94.7% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 643,173 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $121,888,000 after buying an additional 312,882 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in VeriSign by 245.4% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 334,652 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $63,420,000 after purchasing an additional 237,770 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 38.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 546,308 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $103,531,000 after buying an additional 153,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 59.2% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 316,132 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $64,987,000 after purchasing an additional 117,597 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:VRSN traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $181.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 667,356. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $179.52 and a 200-day moving average of $181.02. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $167.04 and a 1 year high of $220.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35 and a beta of 0.90.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The information services provider reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.08. VeriSign had a net margin of 55.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.63%. The company had revenue of $387.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $385.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.79 EPS. VeriSign’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a report on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com downgraded VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 3,684 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $699,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,177,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

VeriSign 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.