Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $5.91 Million Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 10.5%, selling 2,729 shares and now holds 23,286 shares valued at approximately $5.91 million.
• VeriSign recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77, amounting to an annual yield of 1.1% with a payout ratio of 36.75%.
• The company announced a stock buyback plan authorizing the repurchase of up to $1.11 billion in shares, signaling confidence in its stock valuation.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 10.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,286 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,729 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in VeriSign were worth $5,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. Cache Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $685,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted 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 last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 358.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 70,017 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,775,000 after acquiring an additional 54,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter worth $329,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.10, for a total transaction of $143,837.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,843,479.90. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.35, for a total value of $562,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 515,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 quarter. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN traded down $3.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $265.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,337,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 946,763. The firm has a market cap of $24.79 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $257.59. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $172.49 and a twelve month high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.01 EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information services provider to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.