VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Position Raised by Kera Capital Partners Inc.

Kera Capital Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 131.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,378 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,352 shares during the quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 13,000.0% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 32.3% during the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $285.52 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $277.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $268.25. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.62 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The stock has a market cap of $26.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.07 and a beta of 0.79.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The firm had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. VeriSign’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 36.75%.

VeriSign announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information services provider to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, VeriSign currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $189,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,126,680. The trade was a 4.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.28, for a total value of $141,422.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,933,715.48. The trade was a 1.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,706 shares of company stock worth $13,265,439. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.