VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Stock Position Raised by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 2,034.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,207 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,401 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $4,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in VeriSign during the first quarter valued at about $641,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 118.3% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 220,285 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $55,924,000 after acquiring an additional 119,368 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at about $508,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $351,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 13,362 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,844,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on VRSN shares. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.67.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $253.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $23.52 billion, a PE ratio of 29.57 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $256.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $271.35. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $185.44 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. The business had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.90%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, EVP John Calys sold 1,001 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.71, for a total value of $242,952.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,003,189.14. This trade represents a 3.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.05, for a total transaction of $492,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 440,966 shares in the company, valued at $108,499,684.30. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,338 shares of company stock valued at $12,525,038. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.