VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by National Pension Service

Key Points

• The National Pension Service has reduced its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 5.2%, now owning 159,048 shares valued at approximately $40.38 million.
• VeriSign recently announced a share repurchase plan allowing for up to $1.11 billion in buybacks, indicating that the board perceives the stock as undervalued.
• In addition to the above, the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, with an annualized rate of $3.08 and a dividend yield of 1.1%.

National Pension Service lessened its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 159,048 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 8,687 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.17% of VeriSign worth $40,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 35.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the period. Cache Advisors LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $685,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 455,844 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 358.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 70,017 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $17,775,000 after purchasing an additional 54,759 shares during the period. Finally, OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth approximately $329,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.50, for a total value of $132,514.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,767 shares in the company, valued at $9,724,871.50. This represents a 1.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.45, for a total value of $532,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 506,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,029,399.40. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,006 shares of company stock worth $13,116,714. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $269.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21 and a beta of 0.78. The business's 50 day moving average is $280.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $261.32. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%. The company's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS.

VeriSign announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st.

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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