Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Increases Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB increased its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. by 16.7%, owning 102,151 shares valued at approximately $25.9 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• VeriSign has announced a share buyback plan authorizing the repurchase of up to $1.11 billion in outstanding shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77, with an ex-dividend date set for August 19th, representing an annualized yield of 1.01%.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 16.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,151 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,632 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned 0.11% of VeriSign worth $25,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 35.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the period. Cache Advisors LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $685,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,746,661,000 after purchasing an additional 455,844 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 358.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 70,017 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,775,000 after purchasing an additional 54,759 shares during the period. Finally, OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth $329,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.71, for a total transaction of $1,383,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 544,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,743,860.12. This represents a 0.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,004 shares of company stock valued at $11,278,592. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSN has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Trading Down 3.1%

VRSN stock traded down $8.59 on Wednesday, hitting $268.88. The company had a trading volume of 795,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 846,248. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $172.49 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The stock has a market cap of $25.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.08 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $282.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $256.39.

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

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information services provider to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. VeriSign's payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

VeriSign 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.