VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 11.5% during the first quarter, with holdings valued at approximately $11.36 million.
• VeriSign's board has authorized a $1.11 billion stock buyback program, indicating a belief that its shares are undervalued.
• VeriSign reported a net margin of 50.05% and earnings of $2.21 per share, slightly exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue rose 5.9% year-over-year.

Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 11.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,760 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,607 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $11,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 32.3% in the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the first quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment 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, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $277.50.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $273.20. The stock had a trading volume of 606,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 799,585. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.52 billion, a PE ratio of 32.60 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.62 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $277.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $265.74.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

VeriSign declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information services provider to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.71, for a total value of $541,420.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 496,304 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $134,354,455.84. This trade represents a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.50, for a total transaction of $132,514.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,724,871.50. This trade represents a 1.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,946,686 in the last ninety days. 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.