The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 3.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 50,998 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,554 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $9,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV grew its position in VeriSign by 56.3% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 17,495 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,323,000 after purchasing an additional 6,303 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 50.4% during the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 69,563 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,368,000 after acquiring an additional 23,306 shares during the last quarter. Ibex Investors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter valued at approximately $622,000. Asset Management Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign in the second quarter worth $5,071,000. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP grew its stake in VeriSign by 360.1% in the 3rd quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 5,646 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 4,419 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 1,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $233,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,382,670. This represents a 3.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total value of $402,563.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,033,391.51. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,776 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,524. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $187.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $184.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.97. The firm has a market cap of $18.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86 and a beta of 0.92. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $167.04 and a 1 year high of $220.91.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The information services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. VeriSign had a net margin of 55.74% and a negative return on equity of 45.59%. The business had revenue of $390.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $390.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

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.