LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Acquires 744 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,929 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 744 shares during the period. VeriSign comprises about 0.9% of LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $10,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter valued at $641,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake 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 valued at $55,924,000 after buying an additional 119,368 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter valued at $508,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter valued at about $351,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 35.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.50.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $272.98 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.62 and a 52-week high of $310.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $276.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $272.88. The company has a market capitalization of $25.50 billion, a PE ratio of 32.58 and a beta of 0.79.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.75%.

VeriSign declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information services provider to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.48, for a total transaction of $576,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 476,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,443,122.72. This trade represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of VeriSign 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,126,680. The trade was a 4.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,205 shares of company stock worth $12,587,894. 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.