VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Purchased by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,717 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 533 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $7,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd increased its stake in VeriSign by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 8,239 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 37,800 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,823,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth $214,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 26,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,033,391.51. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target 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 research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $237.88 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $167.04 and a 52-week high of $239.95. The stock has a market cap of $22.50 billion, a PE ratio of 29.74 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.96.

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

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.