Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Boosts Stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 179.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 285,072 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 183,202 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.30% of VeriSign worth $58,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $222,840,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth $141,129,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its stake in VeriSign by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,746,661,000 after acquiring an additional 455,844 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 544.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 391,319 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $81,003,000 after acquiring an additional 330,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Troy Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in VeriSign by 49.1% during the 4th quarter. Troy Asset Management Ltd now owns 914,543 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $189,274,000 after purchasing an additional 301,267 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN stock traded down $3.80 during trading on Friday, reaching $281.41. 953,856 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 749,805. The company has a market capitalization of $26.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $251.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $168.51 and a twelve month high of $288.95.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is 37.65%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at $5,500,586.25. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total value of $170,274.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,059,955.65. The trade was a 13.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,447 shares of company stock worth $386,654. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

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.