Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Invests $27.36 Million in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Key Points

• Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. has invested approximately $27.36 million in VeriSign, Inc. by purchasing 107,756 shares, making it the firm's 25th largest position at around 1.4% of its portfolio.
• VeriSign recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.21 per share, slightly exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue of approximately $409.90 million.
• The company's board authorized a stock buyback plan worth $1.11 billion, allowing reacquisition of up to 4.1% of its shares to reflect confidence in its valuation.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 107,756 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $27,356,000. VeriSign makes up about 1.4% of Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. owned about 0.11% of VeriSign as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 103.5% in the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 3,429 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 39.2% during the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 51,129 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,980,000 after buying an additional 14,400 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 19.5% in the first quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 7,927 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 13.9% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,550 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of VRSN opened at $267.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $24.99 billion, a PE ratio of 31.92 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $172.49 and a 1 year high of $310.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.56.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.35, for a total transaction of $562,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 515,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $145,112,452.20. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.50, for a total transaction of $132,514.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,724,871.50. This trade represents a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 40,006 shares of company stock valued at $11,263,064. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VRSN. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st.

VeriSign Company 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.

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