Quarry LP Buys Shares of 2,525 VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Quarry LP has acquired a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. by purchasing 2,525 shares valued at approximately $641,000 during the first quarter.
• VeriSign reported earnings of $2.21 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a net margin of 50.05% and quarterly revenue growth of 5.9% year-over-year.
• The company has initiated a $1.11 billion share buyback program, indicating confidence in its stock value, while also announcing a dividend of $0.77 per share, yielding 1.1% annually.

Quarry LP purchased a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,525 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $641,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 9,834 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,035,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,722,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in VeriSign by 4,149.6% in the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 94,935 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $19,648,000 after buying an additional 92,701 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $1,101,000. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its position in VeriSign by 58.6% in the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 30,225 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,255,000 after purchasing an additional 11,163 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ VRSN traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $273.20. 606,387 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 799,585. The company has a market cap of $25.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.60 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.62 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $277.98 and a 200 day moving average of $265.74.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $277.50.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 526,772 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 46,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,946,686 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.