Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Has $17.46 Million Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd reduced its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 25.1% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.07% of the company worth about $17.46 million.
• VeriSign's CEO, D James Bidzos, recently sold 2,000 shares valued at $562,700, while the company also announced a $1.11 billion stock buyback plan.
• The firm reported earnings of $2.21 per share for the last quarter, slightly above analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 5.9% year-over-year, reaching $409.90 million.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd cut its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 25.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,572 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 23,284 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd owned 0.07% of VeriSign worth $17,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $222,840,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 34,326.0% during the 1st 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. increased its stake in 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 valued at $143,319,000 after purchasing an additional 504,748 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc raised its holdings in VeriSign by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,746,661,000 after buying an additional 455,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 58.2% in 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 buying an additional 403,760 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.35, for a total value of $562,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 515,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $145,112,452.20. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.10, for a total transaction of $143,837.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,843,479.90. The trade was a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,004 shares of company stock worth $11,278,592 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $305.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.49 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $172.49 and a 52-week high of $308.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $282.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $254.94.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 50.05%. The company's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 EPS.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information services provider to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is 37.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th.

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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