VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by Financial Advisors Network Inc.

Key Points

• Financial Advisors Network Inc. reduced its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. by 92.9%, selling 19,431 shares and owning only 1,474 shares worth approximately $374,000.
• VeriSign's board has authorized a $1.11 billion share repurchase plan, indicating the company's belief that its shares are undervalued.
• The company reported $2.21 earnings per share for its latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.1%.

Financial Advisors Network Inc. trimmed its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 92.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,474 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 19,431 shares during the quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,506 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 32.3% in the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 0.3% in the first quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,461 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,671,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 3.1% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,861 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 17.0% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 406 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.82, for a total transaction of $1,424,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 526,772 shares in the company, valued at $150,035,201.04. This represents a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 40,006 shares of company stock worth $11,153,394 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock traded up $2.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $271.42. The stock had a trading volume of 668,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,252,645. The company has a market cap of $25.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.39 and a beta of 0.78. The business's 50 day moving average price is $279.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $262.46. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.62 and a 52 week high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The firm's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 36.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $277.50.

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.