LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Makes New $8.68 Million Investment in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. has invested approximately $8.68 million in VeriSign, acquiring 34,185 shares during the first quarter of 2023.
• VeriSign recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, representing a 1.2% dividend yield and an annualized payout of $3.08.
• The company's latest earnings report revealed $2.21 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside a quarterly revenue of $409.90 million.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 34,185 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,679,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. Cache Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $685,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,746,661,000 after purchasing an additional 455,844 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 358.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 70,017 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $17,775,000 after purchasing an additional 54,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at about $329,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $266.82. 859,735 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,182,776. The stock has a market cap of $24.92 billion, a PE ratio of 31.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company's fifty day moving average is $280.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.93. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.62 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 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 analyst estimates of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.75%.

VeriSign announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.45, for a total value of $532,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 506,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at $135,029,399.40. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.50, for a total value of $132,514.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,767 shares in the company, valued at $9,724,871.50. This trade represents a 1.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,006 shares of company stock worth $13,116,714 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign 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.