MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Sells 2,101 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. sold 2,101 shares of VeriSign, Inc., reducing its stake by 7.5% to 25,835 shares, valued at approximately $6.56 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard and AQR Capital Management, have increased their stakes in VeriSign, suggesting strong institutional interest in the company.
• VeriSign recently announced a $1.11 billion stock buyback plan and a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, reflecting the company's confidence in its valuation and future prospects.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. decreased its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,835 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,101 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $6,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VRSN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,514,290 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,669,263,000 after purchasing an additional 119,555 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 75.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,002,510 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in VeriSign by 71.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,157,422 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $293,835,000 after purchasing an additional 60,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in VeriSign by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,024,095 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $259,987,000 after purchasing an additional 49,478 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $189,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,284 shares in the company, valued at $4,126,680. This represents a 4.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.28, for a total value of $141,422.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,933,715.48. The trade was a 1.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,706 shares of company stock worth $11,281,499 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $283.48 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $277.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.54. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.62 and a 12 month high of $310.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.83 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 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 firm had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have 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 research report on Tuesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $277.50.

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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