VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Position Boosted by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 10.4%, owning approximately 74,240 shares valued at $18.85 million.
• VeriSign reported $2.21 earnings per share in its recent quarterly earnings, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues rising by 5.9% year-over-year.
• The company approved a $1.11 billion share repurchase program, allowing it to buy back up to 4.1% of its shares, suggesting confidence in its stock value.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,240 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.08% of VeriSign worth $18,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at $641,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in VeriSign by 118.3% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 220,285 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $55,924,000 after purchasing an additional 119,368 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign in the first quarter valued at about $508,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter worth about $351,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 35.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 721 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Trading Up 2.1%

VRSN stock traded up $5.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $289.37. 688,222 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 709,467. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $277.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $267.92. The company has a market capitalization of $27.03 billion, a PE ratio of 34.53 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.62 and a twelve month high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $410.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $277.50.

Insider Activity 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 508,772 shares in the company, valued at $134,392,123.80. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,706 shares of company stock valued at $13,265,439. 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.