Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Grows Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 9.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,719 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,435 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $7,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northstar Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 100.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,276,000 after buying an additional 2,292 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at about $17,800,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at about $221,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 23,490 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,567,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on VRSN. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.00.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.0%

VRSN opened at $244.23 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $211.79 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $22.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $247.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $261.03.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.71, for a total transaction of $123,857.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,613 shares in the company, valued at $7,613,759.23. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total value of $496,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,812,499.72. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,333 shares of company stock worth $9,449,473. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign’s registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.