Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Acquires 4,016 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. by 64.1% during the 2nd quarter, acquiring an additional 4,016 shares to reach a total of 10,282 shares valued at approximately $2.97 million.
• VeriSign reported $2.27 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $419.10 million, marking a 7.3% year-over-year increase.
• The company has approved a $1.11 billion share buyback program, allowing it to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares, indicating a belief that the stock is undervalued.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 64.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,282 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,016 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter valued at $641,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 118.3% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 220,285 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $55,924,000 after buying an additional 119,368 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter valued at $508,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter valued at $351,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 35.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 721 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN opened at $247.08 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $273.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.74. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.62 and a 1 year high of $310.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.08 billion, a PE ratio of 28.80 and a beta of 0.79.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 41.04% and a net margin of 49.86%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information services provider to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.90%.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.92, for a total value of $131,722.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 34,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,988,971.88. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total value of $523,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 460,439 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $120,423,216.06. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 45,706 shares of company stock valued at $12,451,906. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on VeriSign in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $287.50.

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.

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