Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Lowers Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. has reduced its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 5.7%, selling 1,900 shares during the second quarter, now holding 31,700 shares worth approximately $9.15 million.
• VeriSign announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.1%, with a dividend payout ratio of 36.75%.
• The company has authorized a stock buyback program of up to $1.11 billion, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lowered its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 5.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,700 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,900 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $9,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the second quarter worth $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 56.5% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 13,000.0% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN opened at $282.28 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $277.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $269.93. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.62 and a 1-year high of $310.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68 and a beta of 0.79.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released 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. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The business had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. During the same period last 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.75%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on VRSN. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.28, for a total transaction of $141,422.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,933,715.48. The trade was a 1.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $189,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,126,680. The trade was a 4.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,706 shares of company stock valued at $12,733,269. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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