Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Purchases 367 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,741 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $3,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $239.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $268.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.38. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $176.62 and a twelve month high of $310.60.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information services provider to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 508,772 shares in the company, valued at $134,392,123.80. This trade represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total transaction of $592,175.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,033.99. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 48,039 shares of company stock valued at $12,990,731 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

About VeriSign

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.