Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Has $1.63 Million Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise cut its VeriSign stake by 45.1% in the first quarter, leaving it with 6,557 shares valued at about $1.63 million.
• Several other institutional investors adjusted their positions, and hedge funds/institutions now own 92.90% of VeriSign’s stock, indicating heavy institutional interest.
• VeriSign reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $2.34 per share on revenue of $428.9 million, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average price target of $327.67.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise reduced its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 45.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,557 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 5,388 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRSN. Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in VeriSign by 159.6% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 5,626 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,647,000. Sienna Gestion bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,139,000. Vestcor Inc grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 85,503 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $23,904,000 after buying an additional 10,637 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 152.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 308,091 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $75,922,000 after buying an additional 186,029 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total transaction of $1,355,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,538,548.90. This trade represents a 12.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total transaction of $141,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at $10,363,670.54. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 20,196 shares of company stock valued at $5,559,420 in the last ninety days. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.9%

VRSN stock opened at $255.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $281.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $256.23. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48. The stock has a market cap of $23.26 billion, a PE ratio of 28.25 and a beta of 0.69.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 35.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $327.67.

VeriSign Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRSN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.