VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Position Lessened by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. by 23.2% in Q1, owning 25,132 shares valued at $6.38 million after selling 7,589 shares.
• VeriSign's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $2.21, slightly beating estimates, with revenues of $409.90 million, marking a 5.9% increase from the previous year.
• The company announced a $1.11 billion stock buyback program, enabling it to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares, indicative of management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 23.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,132 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 7,589 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $6,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.8% during the fourth 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. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $374,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 974,617 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $201,707,000 after purchasing an additional 98,985 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,722,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 4,149.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 92,701 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $189,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,126,680. This represents a 4.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 36,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,724,871.50. This trade represents a 1.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,205 shares of company stock worth $13,084,682. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN stock traded up $1.37 on Friday, reaching $273.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 826,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 859,326. 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 $25.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.62 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $278.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $265.38.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its 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 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 earnings per share. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

VeriSign announced that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.