VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Acquired by Bank of Nova Scotia

Key Points

• The Bank of Nova Scotia has increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 219.3%, owning approximately $27.3 million worth of shares after acquiring an additional 73,788 shares in the first quarter.
• VeriSign's CEO sold 2,000 shares at $281.35 per share, reducing his ownership by 0.39%, while the company reported a quarterly EPS of $2.21, beating estimates.
• The company's Board of Directors authorized a $1.11 billion share buyback plan, indicating confidence in the stock being undervalued, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share.

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 219.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,429 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 73,788 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.11% of VeriSign worth $27,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,746,661,000 after buying an additional 455,844 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in VeriSign by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,701,154 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $352,071,000 after purchasing an additional 35,326 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,327,130 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $273,853,000 after buying an additional 229,311 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 58.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,097,129 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $227,062,000 after acquiring an additional 403,760 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 974,617 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $201,707,000 after acquiring an additional 98,985 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was 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 owned 515,772 shares in the company, valued at $145,112,452.20. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,843,479.90. The trade was a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,604 shares of company stock worth $11,165,804 in the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $265.37 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $172.49 and a 1 year high of $310.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $281.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $257.59. The company has a market cap of $24.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.67 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.75%.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information services provider to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

VeriSign 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.

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