Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Has $75.18 Million Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Aware Super Pty Ltd increased its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. by 64.8% during Q2, now owning approximately $75.18 million worth of stock, making it the firm's 15th largest position.
• CEO D. James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares for nearly $577,000, reducing his ownership by 0.42%, while other insiders have sold 31,706 shares worth over $8.7 million in the last three months.
• VeriSign recently announced a $1.11 billion stock buyback program and a quarterly dividend of $0.77, reflecting the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super boosted its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 64.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 278,808 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 109,651 shares during the quarter. VeriSign makes up approximately 1.1% of Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super owned about 0.30% of VeriSign worth $75,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,017 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 35.6% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 358.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 70,017 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $17,775,000 after buying an additional 54,759 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the first quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,003,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.48, for a total transaction of $576,960.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,439 shares in the company, valued at $137,443,122.72. This trade represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $189,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,126,680. The trade was a 4.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 31,706 shares of company stock worth $8,735,706. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VRSN opened at $265.74 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $275.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.93. The firm has a market cap of $24.82 billion, a PE ratio of 31.71 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 posted 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. The company had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised 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 three have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

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