Gabelli Funds LLC Invests $508,000 in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC has acquired a new stake by purchasing 2,000 shares of VeriSign, Inc. valued at approximately $508,000.
• VeriSign's recent earnings report showed $2.21 earnings per share, slightly above analysts' expectations, with revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter.
• The company has initiated a $1.11 billion stock buyback program, allowing repurchase of up to 4.1% of its shares, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,000 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $508,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its position in VeriSign by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,746,661,000 after acquiring an additional 455,844 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in VeriSign by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,514,290 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,669,263,000 after acquiring an additional 119,555 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in VeriSign by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,097,129 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $227,062,000 after acquiring an additional 403,760 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in VeriSign by 5.1% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,024,095 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $259,987,000 after acquiring an additional 49,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 704,279 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $145,758,000 after purchasing an additional 81,580 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on VRSN. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $277.50.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $273.20. The stock had a trading volume of 606,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 799,585. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $277.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.52 billion, a PE ratio of 32.60 and a beta of 0.79. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $409.90 million for 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.01 earnings per share. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

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 issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 526,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,035,201.04. This represents a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 46,704 shares of company stock worth $12,946,686 in the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.