VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Acquired by Amundi

Key Points

• Amundi increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 71.3% in Q1, raising its holdings to approximately 1,202,278 shares valued at $307 million.
• The company's quarterly earnings reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.21, beating analysts' estimates, with revenue of $409.90 million, reflecting a 5.9% increase compared to the previous year.
• VeriSign has approved a stock buyback program allowing it to repurchase up to $1.11 billion in shares, signalling confidence in its valuation.

Amundi grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 71.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,202,278 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 500,223 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 1.28% of VeriSign worth $307,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 13,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in VeriSign by 106.5% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN stock traded up $2.83 during trading on Monday, reaching $282.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 848,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 865,289. The company has a market capitalization of $26.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.76 and a beta of 0.79. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $277.54 and its 200 day moving average price 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $410.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $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 declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information services provider to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business'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 in the company, valued at $150,035,201.04. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,205 shares of company stock worth $13,082,187. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

VeriSign 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.