Twin Tree Management LP Decreases Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Twin Tree Management LP has significantly reduced its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. by 89.7%, now owning only 2,525 shares valued at $641,000 after selling 22,075 shares in the first quarter.
• VeriSign's board has initiated a stock buyback program authorizing the repurchase of $1.11 billion worth of shares, indicating confidence in the company's stock value.
• Analysts have raised the target price for VeriSign shares from $285.00 to $305.00, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $277.50.

Twin Tree Management LP decreased its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 89.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,525 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 22,075 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP's holdings in VeriSign were worth $641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in VeriSign by 13,000.0% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in VeriSign by 106.5% during the first 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. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 32.3% during the first 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on VRSN. Robert W. Baird increased their target price 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $277.50.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $273.37 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $278.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.69. The stock has a market cap of $25.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.62 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.62 and a 12-month high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The firm had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $410.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.75%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.82, for a total transaction of $1,424,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 526,772 shares of the company's stock, 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 at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 46,704 shares of company stock worth $12,946,686 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.

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