Redwood Investment Management LLC Has $5.04 Million Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Redwood Investment Management LLC increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 10.6%, owning 19,846 shares valued at approximately $5.04 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• VeriSign's board approved a $1.11 billion stock buyback plan, reflecting the board's belief that the company's shares are undervalued.
• The company has recently reported an earnings per share of $2.21, slightly above analysts' expectations, and plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share on August 27th.

Redwood Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,846 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,909 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $5,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in VeriSign by 491.4% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,392 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,530,000 after buying an additional 6,142 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $252,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $374,000. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $268,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $4,126,680. The trade was a 4.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was 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 approximately $9,724,871.50. This represents a 1.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,205 shares of company stock worth $13,084,682 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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 restated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $277.50.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN traded down $0.37 during trading on Thursday, reaching $272.00. 726,229 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 960,207. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.62 and a 12 month high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $25.41 billion, a PE ratio of 32.46 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $278.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $264.56.

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, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $410.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information services provider to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued 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 payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

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.