Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Acquires Shares of 779 VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 779 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 56.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in 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 worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its stake in VeriSign by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 2,183 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $241.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.20 and a beta of 0.76. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $176.62 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $267.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.38.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $416.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.90%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total value of $1,320,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 508,772 shares in the company, valued at $134,392,123.80. This trade represents a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total transaction of $592,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,577 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,033.99. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,039 shares of company stock worth $12,990,731. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign 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.