VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Purchased by Cornerstone Planning Group LLC

Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 25,943.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,167 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,151 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Strategy Asset Managers LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at about $654,000. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 68,706 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,208,000 after buying an additional 13,837 shares during the period. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in VeriSign during the third quarter worth about $17,800,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 32.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,003 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $894,414,000 after purchasing an additional 767,363 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,719 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,749,000 after acquiring an additional 2,435 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $282.00.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,812,499.72. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.71, for a total transaction of $123,857.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,613,759.23. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 37,999 shares of company stock valued at $9,367,804 over the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $251.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.66. The stock has a market cap of $23.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.25 and a beta of 0.75. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $211.79 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60.

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.