Aurora Investment Counsel Makes New Investment in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Aurora Investment Counsel purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,121 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,689,000. VeriSign accounts for about 1.6% of Aurora Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in VeriSign by 291.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 176 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in VeriSign by 117.2% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 202 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in VeriSign in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 327 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 2,456 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $466,640.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,821 shares in the company, valued at $6,615,990. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 2,456 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $466,640.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,615,990. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 3,684 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $699,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,177,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $189.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50-day moving average is $181.54 and its 200-day moving average is $180.01. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $167.04 and a fifty-two week high of $220.91.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The information services provider reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $387.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $385.80 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 55.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.63%. VeriSign’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.79 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 16th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Thursday, June 27th.

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.