M&T Bank Corp Increases Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in VeriSign by 2,147.4% in Q4, adding 80,204 shares to hold 83,939 shares (~0.09% ownership) valued at about $20.39M.
• VeriSign beat Q1 2026 estimates with EPS $2.34 (vs. $2.30) and reported revenue of $428.9M (+6.6% YoY), while domain registrations rose to 392.5 million; however, some third‑party revenue estimates were higher and management guidance was described as unclear.
• Sell‑side sentiment is positive overall with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target of $297 (Citigroup raised its target to $295); the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 (1.2% yield).

M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 2,147.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,939 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 80,204 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp owned about 0.09% of VeriSign worth $20,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Strategy Asset Managers LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the 3rd quarter valued at about $654,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in VeriSign by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 357,611 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $99,977,000 after purchasing an additional 36,829 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in VeriSign by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,719 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $7,749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,435 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in VeriSign in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,647,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 152.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 308,091 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $75,922,000 after purchasing an additional 186,029 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.08, for a total value of $124,041.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,501,044.20. This represents a 1.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,490 shares of company stock worth $626,690. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VRSN shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $297.00.

Key Stories Impacting VeriSign

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 2026 results beat on EPS and showed year-over-year revenue growth (revenue ~ $429M, operating income up, EPS $2.34 vs. prior-year $2.10), reinforcing recurring-registry strength and margin resilience. Verisign Reports First Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Domain industry data shows registrations climbed to 392.5 million at end of Q1 2026 (up ~1.4% QoQ / +5.6M names), supporting long‑term registry revenue and retention assumptions. DNIB.com Reports 392.5 Million Domain Name Registrations
• Neutral Sentiment: Company commentary and the earnings call transcript provide color on product mix and cost trends, but guidance language in feeds was unclear/garbled—investors should review the call transcript/slides for management's forward assumptions. Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage summaries (Zacks/MarketBeat) reinforce the EPS beat and year-over-year revenue gain — helpful for confirming consensus beats but add limited new information. Verisign Tops Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Some third‑party summaries show revenue was slightly below certain consensus figures (~$428.9M reported vs. a higher third‑party estimate), which tempers the beat narrative for revenue-focused investors. VeriSign Stock Rises on Q1 2026 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Data on insider and institutional moves (significant sales by some executives and large institutional portfolio reductions noted in datasets) could weigh sentiment for investors sensitive to ownership changes. Insider & Institutional Activity (Quiver)

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $276.95 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $246.93. The stock has a market cap of $25.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.44 and a beta of 0.70.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.40% and a net margin of 49.84%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.28 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign's payout ratio is 36.78%.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc NASDAQ: VRSN is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign's registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.

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