VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Acquired by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 167,086 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,678 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $34,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 602.6% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 11,712 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,225,000 after buying an additional 10,045 shares during the period. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its position in VeriSign by 5.7% during the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 69,175 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,066,000 after acquiring an additional 3,760 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the third quarter valued at about $130,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 54.8% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 27,175 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,162,000 after acquiring an additional 9,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tri Ri Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $250.23 on Wednesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $167.05 and a 1-year high of $258.67. The company has a market capitalization of $23.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $239.45 and a 200-day moving average of $210.52.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of VeriSign from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st.

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.