Citigroup Inc. Acquires 96,621 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 68.7% in Q1, owning 237,204 shares valued at approximately $60.2 million.
• Insider trading revealed that CEO D. James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares for $1.42 million, retaining 526,772 shares, which is a 0.94% decrease in ownership.
• VeriSign announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, representing a 1.1% yield and a 36.75% payout ratio, with upcoming stock repurchase plans allowing up to $1.11 billion in buybacks.

Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 68.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 237,204 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 96,621 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.25% of VeriSign worth $60,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 13,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in 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 period. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on VRSN. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN traded down $4.40 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $263.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,300,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,119,496. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.51. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $172.49 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $24.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39 and a beta of 0.78.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.35, for a total value of $562,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 515,772 shares in the company, valued at $145,112,452.20. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.50, for a total value of $135,019.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,043,726. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,505 shares of company stock worth $11,130,549 in the last three months. Company 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.