Neuberger Berman Group LLC Grows Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 19.5% in Q1, holding a position worth approximately $2.01 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• VeriSign reported a quarterly EPS of $2.21, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations, while its revenue was up 5.9% year-over-year.
• The company authorized a $1.11 billion stock buyback plan, allowing repurchase of up to 4.1% of its outstanding shares, signaling management's belief that the stock may be undervalued.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 19.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,927 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,292 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake 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 last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in VeriSign during the first quarter worth $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in VeriSign by 106.5% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 32.3% during the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in VeriSign during the first quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.8%

VRSN traded up $2.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $271.42. The company had a trading volume of 668,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,252,645. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.62 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The company has a market capitalization of $25.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.39 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $279.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.46.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $277.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.45, for a total transaction of $532,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at $135,029,399.40. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.50, for a total transaction of $132,514.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,724,871.50. The trade was a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,006 shares of company stock valued at $11,153,394. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by 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.