Aberdeen Group plc Increases Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. by 9.9% in Q1, owning a total of 22,059 shares valued at approximately $5.53 million.
• VeriSign announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, with an annualized payout of $3.08 and a yield of 1.1%.
• The company has launched a stock repurchase plan allowing up to $1.11 billion in share buybacks, indicating a belief that its stock is undervalued.

Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 9.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,059 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,980 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in VeriSign were worth $5,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 35.6% in the first 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. Cache Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $685,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,746,661,000 after buying an additional 455,844 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 358.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 70,017 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,775,000 after buying an additional 54,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at $329,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $277.50.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $271.42 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.39 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.62 and a 1 year high of $310.60. The company's fifty day moving average is $279.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $262.46.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The business had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.75%.

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.82, for a total transaction of $1,424,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 526,772 shares in the company, valued at $150,035,201.04. This represents a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,006 shares of company stock valued at $11,153,394. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.

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