Pacer Advisors Inc. Grows Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 142.3% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 88,920 shares valued at $22,574,000.
• VeriSign recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, which will be paid on August 27th, reflecting an annual yield of 1.01%.
• The company announced a stock buyback program allowing for the repurchase of $1.11 billion in shares, indicating management’s belief that the stock is undervalued.

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 142.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,920 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 52,222 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.09% of VeriSign worth $22,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRSN. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 47,376 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,805,000 after acquiring an additional 15,147 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association bought a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Korea Investment CORP raised its stake in VeriSign by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 29,943 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,197,000 after acquiring an additional 8,900 shares during the period. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,162,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $145,112,452.20. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.10, for a total value of $143,837.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,843,479.90. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,004 shares of company stock valued at $11,278,592. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN traded down $7.00 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $270.48. 478,517 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 844,269. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $282.44 and a 200-day moving average of $256.39. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $172.49 and a one year high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $25.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.28 and a beta of 0.78.

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

VeriSign declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th.

VeriSign Company Profile

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.