Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $26.99 Million Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 14.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 142,392 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 23,095 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $26,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its stake in VeriSign by 158.6% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 181 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at about $77,000. CX Institutional acquired a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at about $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $176.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $174.83 and its 200-day moving average is $188.10. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $167.04 and a one year high of $225.11.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $384.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $381.85 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 47.21% and a net margin of 55.04%. VeriSign’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VRSN. StockNews.com lowered VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 16th. Citigroup cut their target price on VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Thursday, June 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $116,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,955 shares in the company, valued at $7,971,450. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $116,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,955 shares in the company, valued at $7,971,450. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.01, for a total value of $147,228.66. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $622,406.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,681 shares of company stock worth $468,227. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.