Prudential PLC Reduces Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC has reduced its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. by 13.7%, resulting in 28,793 shares worth approximately $7.31 million after selling 4,575 shares in the 1st quarter.
• VeriSign announced a $1.11 billion stock repurchase program, allowing it to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock, indicating that its board may believe the stock is undervalued.
• The company's most recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.21, beating estimates by $0.01, with a revenue growth of 5.9% year-over-year, reaching $409.90 million for the quarter.

Prudential PLC decreased its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 13.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,793 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,575 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $7,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,310,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 50.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,714 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $976,000 after buying an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in VeriSign by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 287,298 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $59,459,000 after buying an additional 26,852 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,077,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $252,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.82, for a total value of $1,424,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 526,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $150,035,201.04. This represents a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 47,006 shares of company stock valued at $13,116,714 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of VeriSign stock traded up $3.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $269.89. 1,296,375 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 884,879. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.62 and a 1 year high of $310.60. The company has a market capitalization of $25.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.21 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $280.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.32.

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, beating 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 company had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $410.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 is Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 36.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th.

VeriSign 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.