Swiss National Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank reduced its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. by 1.7%, owning approximately 243,900 shares worth $61.9 million after selling 4,300 shares in the first quarter.
• VeriSign's CEO, D. James Bidzos, sold 5,000 shares valued at $1.42 million, decreasing his ownership stake by 0.94%.
• VeriSign announced a stock repurchase program authorizing the buyback of up to $1.11 billion in shares, signaling confidence in the company's stock value.

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 243,900 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.26% of VeriSign worth $61,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 13,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth $47,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 526,772 shares in the company, valued at $150,035,201.04. This trade represents a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 39,505 shares of company stock valued at $11,130,549 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased 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. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VeriSign stock opened at $271.89 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $281.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.10. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $172.49 and a one year high of $310.60. The stock has a market cap of $25.40 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45 and a beta of 0.78.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $410.35 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.