Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 10.9%, owning 14,584 shares valued at approximately $4.21 million, as reported in its SEC filing.
• VeriSign announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77, resulting in an annualized dividend of $3.08 and a yield of 1.1%, with a payout ratio of 36.75%.
• The Board approved a stock repurchase program authorizing the buyback of $1.11 billion worth of shares, indicating confidence in the company's valuation.

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 10.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,584 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $4,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter worth $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in VeriSign by 13,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $270.78 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $275.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.49. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.62 and a 1-year high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $25.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.31 and a beta of 0.79.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $277.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.43, for a total transaction of $1,342,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 498,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,759,742.72. This represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,704 shares of company stock valued at $11,019,957. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.

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