Edgestream Partners L.P. Has $4.97 Million Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 2,034.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,207 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,401 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $4,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth about $641,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in VeriSign by 118.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter worth approximately $508,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter worth approximately $351,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 21.4% in the second 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 during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of VRSN opened at $253.67 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $256.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.52 billion, a PE ratio of 29.57 and a beta of 0.76. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $185.44 and a 12-month high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.The firm had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 35.90%.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.57, for a total value of $1,327,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 471,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,200,055.23. This trade represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total transaction of $592,175.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,033.99. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 47,338 shares of company stock worth $12,525,038 over the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.67.

VeriSign Company 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.