Ascent Group LLC Has $657,000 Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC significantly increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 140.6%, culminating in a total holding valued at $657,000 at the end of the second quarter.
• CEO D. James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign for approximately $1.34 million, resulting in a 0.99% reduction in his total shares owned.
• VeriSign has initiated a $1.11 billion stock buyback program, indicating that leadership believes the stock is currently undervalued.

Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 140.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,276 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,330 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in VeriSign by 42.6% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,318 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter valued at about $233,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 6.7% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,017 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.43, for a total transaction of $1,342,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 498,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,759,742.72. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 39,704 shares of company stock valued at $11,019,957 over the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on VRSN. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.50.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $270.78 on Tuesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.62 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.31 and a beta of 0.79. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $275.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.49.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%.The company had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. The firm'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 announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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