LGT Group Foundation Invests $18.67 Million in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Key Points

• LGT Group Foundation invested approximately $18.67 million in VeriSign, acquiring 73,557 shares during the first quarter.
• VeriSign has initiated a stock buyback program allowing the repurchase of up to $1.11 billion in outstanding shares, indicating management's belief in the stock's undervaluation.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.2%, to be paid on August 27th, 2023.

LGT Group Foundation bought a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 73,557 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $18,674,000. LGT Group Foundation owned approximately 0.08% of VeriSign at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 34,326.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 697,127 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $176,980,000 after purchasing an additional 695,102 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 268.8% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 692,498 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $143,319,000 after purchasing an additional 504,748 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,746,661,000 after purchasing an additional 455,844 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,097,129 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $227,062,000 after purchasing an additional 403,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter valued at $86,014,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.45, for a total transaction of $532,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 506,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,029,399.40. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was 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 owned 36,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,724,871.50. The trade was a 1.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,006 shares of company stock valued at $13,116,714. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $266.82. 859,735 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,182,776. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.92 billion, a PE ratio of 31.84 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.62 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The business's 50-day moving average is $280.79 and its 200-day moving average is $260.93.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%. VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share.

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 36.75%.

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.