Raiffeisen Bank International AG Boosts Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its stake in VeriSign by 56.5% in Q1, owning 46,060 shares valued at approximately $11.56 million.
• VeriSign reported a $2.21 EPS for the quarter, slightly beating analysts' expectations, with a 5.9% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company's Board of Directors has authorized a $1.11 billion share buyback plan, indicating confidence in the stock's valuation.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG raised its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 56.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,060 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 16,636 shares during the quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG's holdings in VeriSign were worth $11,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 13,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.35, for a total value of $562,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 515,772 shares in the company, valued at $145,112,452.20. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,769 shares in the company, valued at $10,843,479.90. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,604 shares of company stock worth $11,165,804 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $265.37 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $172.49 and a one year high of $310.60. The company has a market cap of $24.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.67 and a beta of 0.78. The business's 50 day moving average price is $281.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $257.59.

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 negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%. The company had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information services provider to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign's payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.

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