VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by National Bank of Canada FI

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 11.5% in the first quarter, owning 61,982 shares valued at approximately $15.74 million.
• VeriSign's quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.21, beating expectations, with revenue up 5.9% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share and authorized a $1.11 billion share buyback program, indicating confidence in its stock value.

National Bank of Canada FI cut its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 11.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,982 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 8,045 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.07% of VeriSign worth $15,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 34,326.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 697,127 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $176,980,000 after acquiring an additional 695,102 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in VeriSign by 268.8% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 692,498 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $143,319,000 after acquiring an additional 504,748 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its stake in VeriSign by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,746,661,000 after acquiring an additional 455,844 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 403,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,327,130 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $273,853,000 after acquiring an additional 229,311 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.50, for a total value of $132,514.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,724,871.50. This trade represents a 1.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.35, for a total transaction of $562,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 515,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at $145,112,452.20. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,006 shares of company stock valued at $11,263,064. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on VRSN. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:VRSN traded up $4.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $267.50. 811,860 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,169,249. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.92 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $281.01 and a 200 day moving average of $260.56. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.49 and a 1-year high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 EPS.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

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.