Kodai Capital Management LP Decreases Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Kodai Capital Management LP reduced its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 31.5%, selling 52,979 shares and retaining 115,251 shares valued at approximately $29.26 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in VeriSign, with Rakuten Securities boosting its holding by an impressive 13,000% during the same period.
• VeriSign announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share and authorized a share buyback program allowing repurchase of up to $1.11 billion in outstanding shares.

Kodai Capital Management LP decreased its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 31.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,251 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 52,979 shares during the quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.12% of VeriSign worth $29,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 13,000.0% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter worth $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake 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. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign during the first quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 32.3% during the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN stock traded down $0.51 on Wednesday, reaching $272.70. 130,191 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 867,169. The company has a market cap of $25.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.48 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $277.98 and a 200-day moving average of $265.74. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $175.62 and a one year high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. The company 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 business's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $189,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,284 shares in the company, valued at $4,126,680. This represents a 4.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.71, for a total transaction of $541,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 496,304 shares in the company, valued at $134,354,455.84. This represents a 0.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,704 shares of company stock worth $12,946,686 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, VeriSign has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $277.50.

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.