Swedbank AB Has $15.20 Million Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Swedbank AB has reduced its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 5.0%, now holding approximately 59,861 shares worth around $15.19 million.
• VeriSign has announced a $1.11 billion share buyback program, allowing it to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock, signaling confidence in its valuation.
• The company reported $2.21 EPS for the last quarter, slightly exceeding analyst expectations, with a net margin of 50.05% compared to the previous year.

Swedbank AB decreased its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,861 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,127 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.06% of VeriSign worth $15,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of VRSN stock traded down $3.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $282.28. 1,478,546 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 660,163. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.37 billion, a PE ratio of 33.68 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.62 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $277.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $269.93.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share 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 business 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 firm earned $2.01 EPS. The firm'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 approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information services provider to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $134,392,123.80. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 45,706 shares of company stock valued at $12,733,269. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.50.

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.