4,000 Shares in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Bought by Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd

Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,000 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,155,000. VeriSign comprises about 1.1% of Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at $641,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 118.3% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 220,285 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $55,924,000 after buying an additional 119,368 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign during the first quarter valued at $508,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in VeriSign during the first quarter worth about $351,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 13,362 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,844,000 after acquiring an additional 2,351 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $242.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $253.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.19. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $191.12 and a 12 month high of $310.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.49 billion, a PE ratio of 28.27 and a beta of 0.78.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.07 EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $281.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.62, for a total transaction of $126,562.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,111,628.20. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John Calys sold 1,001 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.71, for a total transaction of $242,952.71. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,003,189.14. This trade represents a 3.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,338 shares of company stock worth $10,526,239. Corporate 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.