VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Position Cut by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 2.6%, now owning 462,138 shares valued at approximately $117.3 million.
• VeriSign recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, reflecting a 1.2% yield and a $1.11 billion share repurchase plan was initiated to buy back up to 4.1% of outstanding shares.
• Analyst sentiments on VeriSign remain positive, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a price target increase from Citigroup and Robert W. Baird, indicating strong market confidence in the stock's performance.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 462,138 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 12,416 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.49% of VeriSign worth $117,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRSN. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 13,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew 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 valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.71, for a total transaction of $541,420.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 496,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,354,455.84. This represents a 0.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.50, for a total value of $132,514.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,767 shares in the company, valued at $9,724,871.50. The trade was a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,205 shares of company stock worth $13,084,682. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VRSN. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $277.50.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:VRSN traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $272.00. 726,229 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 960,207. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $278.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $264.56. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.62 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.46 and a beta of 0.78.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given 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 was Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

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.