VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by TD Asset Management Inc

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc has reduced its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 3.1%, owning approximately 0.69% of the company worth $164.8 million as of the latest SEC disclosure.
• VeriSign's Board of Directors has initiated a $1.11 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating a belief that the company's shares may be undervalued.
• The company recently reported a quarterly earnings of $2.21 per share, slightly surpassing analysts' expectations, while its revenue increased 5.9% year-over-year.

TD Asset Management Inc cut its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 649,175 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 20,779 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.69% of VeriSign worth $164,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRSN. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 13,000.0% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 32.3% in the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 48.8% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter worth approximately $47,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.10, for a total value of $143,837.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,843,479.90. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.35, for a total transaction of $562,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 515,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at $145,112,452.20. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,004 shares of company stock valued at $11,278,592 in the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSN traded down $8.69 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $268.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 795,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 846,248. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $172.49 and a 52-week high of $310.60. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $282.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $256.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.08 and a beta of 0.78.

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

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.