IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Trims Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd trimmed its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 33.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,982 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 9,392 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $5,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter valued at approximately $641,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 119,368 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth $508,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at $351,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 35.6% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $247.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.62 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $273.28 and a 200 day moving average of $274.97.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total transaction of $523,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 460,439 shares in the company, valued at $120,423,216.06. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.92, for a total transaction of $131,722.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 34,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,988,971.88. The trade was a 1.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 45,706 shares of company stock valued at $12,451,906. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.50.

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.