Alliancebernstein L.P. Raises Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. significantly increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 477.1% during the first quarter, owning approximately 791,271 shares valued at around $200.88 million.
• A number of institutional investors have also augmented their holdings in VeriSign, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which grew its stake by an astounding 34,326.0% in the first quarter.
• VeriSign recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, contributing to an annualized payout of $3.08 and reflecting a yield of 1.1%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 477.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 791,271 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 654,170 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.84% of VeriSign worth $200,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in VeriSign by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,514,290 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,669,263,000 after purchasing an additional 119,555 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 75.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,329,640 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $586,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,510 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in VeriSign by 71.3% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,202,278 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $307,098,000 after purchasing an additional 500,223 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,097,129 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $227,062,000 after acquiring an additional 403,760 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,024,095 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $259,987,000 after acquiring an additional 49,478 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.82, for a total transaction of $1,424,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 526,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $150,035,201.04. This represents a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 47,205 shares of company stock worth $13,082,187 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of VRSN traded up $2.83 on Monday, hitting $282.92. 848,490 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 865,289. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.76 and a beta of 0.79. The stock's 50 day moving average is $277.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.94. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.62 and a 1 year 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 firm had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $277.50.

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.