VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by Asset Management Advisors LLC

Asset Management Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,400 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 8,835 shares during the quarter. VeriSign accounts for 4.0% of Asset Management Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Asset Management Advisors LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $5,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,506 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 2,183 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $264.79 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $274.72 and its 200-day moving average is $274.30. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.62 and a 52-week high of $310.60. The company has a market cap of $24.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.60 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 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 company had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total transaction of $1,320,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 508,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,392,123.80. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,706 shares of company stock worth $10,591,676. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $277.50.

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.