Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Raises Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 413,277 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,098 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.45% of VeriSign worth $102,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its stake in VeriSign by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 23,907 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,938,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 202.7% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 9,983 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,479,000 after buying an additional 6,685 shares during the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.9% in the first quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 25,955 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,446,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 1.4% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,818,151 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $699,916,000 after buying an additional 38,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 156.6% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 53,759 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $13,352,000 after acquiring an additional 32,810 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 7.0%

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $280.00 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $276.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $259.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.37 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.73%. The firm had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.14%.

VeriSign News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: VeriSign reported second-quarter results that topped estimates, with EPS of $2.38 versus $2.36 expected and revenue of $434.6 million, up 6% year over year. The stronger-than-expected quarter suggests steady demand for domain registrations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company lifted its FY2026 outlook, calling for revenue of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion, reinforcing confidence that growth can continue after the latest quarter. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: VeriSign announced that .web has been delegated into the DNS root zone, with the company as registry operator. That adds a potential long-term growth opportunity for domain registrations and registry revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush raised its price target on VeriSign to $324 from $318 and kept an outperform rating, implying additional upside relative to the current trading level. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan also raised its price target to $316 from $308, even while maintaining a neutral rating, signaling improved expectations for the stock’s value. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: VeriSign declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, which supports the stock’s income profile but is not a major growth driver by itself.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.23, for a total value of $67,307.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,706,010.73. This represents a 0.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total value of $878,097.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 422,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,513,229.51. This represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,300 shares of company stock valued at $7,125,942. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $328.75.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign’s registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.