MBB Public Markets I LLC Acquires New Shares in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC has made a new investment in VeriSign, acquiring 1,313 shares valued at approximately $333,000 during the first quarter.
• Major hedge funds have also invested in VeriSign, with a combined acquisition totaling over $75 million, indicating strong institutional interest as they now own 92.90% of the stock.
• VeriSign announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share with a yield of 1.1% and established a share buyback plan allowing for $1.11 billion in repurchases, signaling confidence in its valuation.

MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,313 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $333,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 75.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,329,640 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $586,417,000 after buying an additional 1,002,510 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 34,326.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 697,127 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $176,980,000 after purchasing an additional 695,102 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 477.1% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 791,271 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $200,880,000 after purchasing an additional 654,170 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 268.8% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 692,498 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $143,319,000 after purchasing an additional 504,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 71.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,202,278 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $307,098,000 after purchasing an additional 500,223 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN stock traded down $3.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $285.52. 449,759 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 863,927. The company has a market cap of $26.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.07 and a beta of 0.79. The company's 50 day moving average is $277.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.92. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.62 and a 1 year high of $310.60.

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

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total value of $1,320,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 508,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at $134,392,123.80. This trade represents a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 47,706 shares of company stock valued at $13,265,439 in the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. One investment 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.50.

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.