Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC Takes Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign, purchasing 6,657 shares valued at approximately $1.9 million during Q2, signaling institutional interest in the stock.
• VeriSign's CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares for over $1.3 million, yet maintains a significant ownership of about 508,772 shares, suggesting confidence in the company's future.
• Research firms have mostly rated VeriSign positively, with an average target price of **$277.50**, indicating a favorable outlook among analysts.

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,657 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,923,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $1,027,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $276,000. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in VeriSign by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,766 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $367,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRSN. Citigroup restated 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 report on Tuesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, VeriSign currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $277.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total transaction of $1,320,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 508,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $134,392,123.80. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,706 shares of company stock worth $12,733,269. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $282.74 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $26.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.74 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $277.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $270.64. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.62 and a 12-month high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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