Generali Investments Management Co LLC Sells 3,931 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Q1 beat: VeriSign reported EPS of $2.34 and revenue of $428.9M, topped estimates and raised/narrowed FY2026 guidance, prompting analysts to lift targets (average target ~$317.67; Robert W. Baird $355, Citigroup $320).
• Despite the strong print, shares pulled back on concerns about tougher renewal comparisons and mixed institutional flows; insiders have sold and several funds trimmed positions — notably Generali cut its stake by 76.2% after selling 3,931 shares.
• VeriSign declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 (annual $3.24, yield ~1.2%), and trades near $269 with a market cap of ~$24.5B and a P/E around 29.8, reflecting solid margins and cash returns.

Generali Investments Management Co LLC trimmed its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 76.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,229 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,931 shares during the period. Generali Investments Management Co LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 112.5% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in VeriSign during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in VeriSign by 429.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 51.5% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $317.67.

VeriSign Trading Down 2.8%

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $269.20 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $246.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.92. The company has a market capitalization of $24.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.75 and a beta of 0.70. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 49.95%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.28 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is presently 36.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.06, for a total value of $134,489.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,316,832.12. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 2,490 shares of company stock worth $626,690 over the last 90 days. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting VeriSign

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and raised guidance — VeriSign reported Q1 revenue and EPS above street expectations and raised/narrowed FY2026 revenue and operating-income guidance, driven by domain growth and margin expansion; that beat initially supported the stock. Business Wire: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lift targets — Multiple firms raised forecasts and price targets after the print, including Robert W. Baird boosting its target to $355 (outperform), which signals some sell‑side conviction in continued domain growth and cash returns. Benzinga: Analysts Raise Forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raises price target (small upside) — JPMorgan nudged its target to $278 and kept a neutral rating, a moderate endorsement that tempers downside risk from the print. Benzinga: JPMorgan Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend and capital returns remain intact — VeriSign declared a quarterly dividend ($0.81) and continues share‑repurchase activity, supporting the income/cash‑return story but unlikely to move the stock materially on its own.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry backdrop — DNIB reported global domain registrations rose sequentially, reinforcing the secular demand picture for registry services. Business Wire: DNIB Domain Report
• Negative Sentiment: Investor focus on renewal-mix and forward growth — Post‑earnings selling appears tied to management commentary about tougher renewal comparisons later in 2026 (a higher mix of first‑time renewals) and uncertainty over domain net‑adds cadence, prompting repositioning and profit‑taking. Quiver Quant: Post‑Earnings Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and positioning shifts — Recent disclosures show heavy insider sales activity and mixed institutional flows (some large funds trimming positions), which can amplify near‑term downside pressure after a rally.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc NASDAQ: VRSN is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign's registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.

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