Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Acquires Shares of 6,802 VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. by purchasing 6,802 shares valued at approximately $1.73 million in the first quarter.
• VeriSign recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.15%, reflecting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• The company announced a $1.11 billion share buyback plan, indicating management's belief that its shares are undervalued.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 6,802 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,727,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,506 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,461 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,671,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 406 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 573 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $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 research analysts recently issued reports on VRSN shares. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Stock Down 1.3%

NASDAQ VRSN traded down $3.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $265.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,337,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 946,763. The stock has a market cap of $24.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.67 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $281.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $257.26. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $172.49 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.01 EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.75%.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information services provider to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.10, for a total transaction of $143,837.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,843,479.90. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.35, for a total transaction of $562,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 515,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at $145,112,452.20. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,604 shares of company stock worth $11,165,804 over the last 90 days. 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.