VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by Scientech Research LLC

Key Points

• Scientech Research LLC reduced its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. by 47.6%, owning 3,128 shares worth $794,000 after selling 2,836 shares in the latest quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Rakuten Securities and UMB Bank, significantly increased their stakes in VeriSign, with Rakuten Securities boosting its holdings by 13,000.0%.
• VeriSign announced a share repurchase program authorizing up to $1.11 billion in buybacks, indicating the board's confidence in the stock's value.

Scientech Research LLC cut its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 47.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,128 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,836 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter worth approximately $209,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 104.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,047,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 12.3% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 5.5% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,157,422 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $293,835,000 after buying an additional 60,293 shares during the period. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 6.0% in the first quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 60,498 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $15,359,000 after buying an additional 3,416 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total value of $1,320,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 508,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,392,123.80. This trade represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 47,706 shares of company stock valued at $13,265,439. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup reiterated 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.50.

VeriSign Stock Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:VRSN traded down $3.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $285.52. The stock had a trading volume of 449,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 863,946. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $175.62 and a one year high of $310.60. The company has a market capitalization of $26.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.07 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $277.54 and a 200 day moving average of $267.92.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 last year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

About VeriSign

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.