Two Star Manager LLC Trims Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

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Two Star Manager LLC reduced its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 25.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,514 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 15,121 shares during the period. VeriSign comprises 5.4% of Two Star Manager LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Two Star Manager LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $11,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,310,000. Mariner LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,077,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth approximately $252,000. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in VeriSign by 491.4% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,392 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 6,142 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRSN. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.50.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $189,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,126,680. The trade was a 4.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.50, for a total transaction of $132,514.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,724,871.50. The trade was a 1.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 47,706 shares of company stock worth $13,225,964. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN traded up $0.82 during trading on Thursday, hitting $272.24. 477,601 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,252,302. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.62 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The company has a market cap of $25.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.49 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $279.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $262.85.

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 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 business had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis 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 announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.11 billion in outstanding 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 typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.