J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Acquires 8,396 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 127.3% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 8,396 shares, bringing its total holdings to 14,989 shares valued at approximately $4.33 million.
• VeriSign's stock has received a "Buy" consensus rating from analysts, with a price target raised to $305.00 by Robert W. Baird; the average price target is currently $277.50.
• The company has initiated a $1.11 billion share buyback plan and recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, indicating confidence in its financial strength.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 127.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,989 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,396 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in VeriSign were worth $4,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter worth $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $275.44 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $277.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.65. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $175.62 and a one year high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $25.73 billion, a PE ratio of 32.87 and a beta of 0.79.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid 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 (DPR) is currently 36.75%.

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

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other news, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $189,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,126,680. This represents a 4.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.28, for a total transaction of $141,422.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,933,715.48. The trade was a 1.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,205 shares of company stock worth $12,587,894 over the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRSN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.