VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Holdings Raised by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 11.4%, owning approximately $80 million worth of shares as of its latest SEC filing.
• VeriSign has initiated a $1.11 billion stock buyback program, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share.
• In the most recent earnings report, VeriSign reported earnings of $2.21 per share, slightly above analysts' expectations, and saw a 5.9% year-over-year revenue growth.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 11.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 315,150 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 32,313 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.34% of VeriSign worth $79,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 13,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 526,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at $150,035,201.04. This represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 47,006 shares of company stock valued at $13,116,714. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $266.82. 859,735 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,182,776. The company's fifty day moving average price is $280.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.93. The company has a market cap of $24.92 billion, a PE ratio of 31.84 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.62 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%. The firm had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership 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. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.