Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Makes New $1.73 Million Investment in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,802 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,727,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRSN. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,506 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 32.3% during the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 0.3% during the first quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,461 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,671,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 406 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 573 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $266.98 on Thursday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.49 and a 1-year high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $24.94 billion, a PE ratio of 31.86 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $282.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.46.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.75%.

VeriSign declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.71, for a total value of $1,383,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 544,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,743,860.12. The trade was a 0.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 40,004 shares of company stock worth $11,278,592 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Profile

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.