Creative Planning Has $7.15 Million Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Creative Planning increased its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,743 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,672 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $7,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% during 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 last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in VeriSign during the first quarter worth about $34,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, VeriSign has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total transaction of $592,175.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,033.99. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.57, for a total value of $1,327,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 471,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,200,055.23. The trade was a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 40,839 shares of company stock worth $10,918,189 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $245.76 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64 and a beta of 0.76. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.95 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.30.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

VeriSign declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program 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 programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.