KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases 18,000 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 16.7%, acquiring an additional 18,000 shares during the 2nd quarter.
• VeriSign recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.21 per share, surpassing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share.
• The company has authorized a share buyback program allowing it to repurchase up to $1.11 billion worth of its stock, reflecting management's belief that its shares are undervalued.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 125,680 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,000 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned about 0.13% of VeriSign worth $36,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased 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 worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 1.8% in the first quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 2,183 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC increased 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 worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $270.29 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.47. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.62 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $25.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25 and a beta of 0.79.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The business had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

VeriSign announced that its board has authorized 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 purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.28, for a total transaction of $141,422.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,933,715.48. This represents a 1.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $189,000.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,704 shares of company stock worth $10,441,377 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.

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