VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Acquired by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 25.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 356 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in VeriSign by 69.8% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN opened at $245.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.67 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $227.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $167.05 and a 12-month high of $247.30.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its 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 net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About VeriSign

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.