PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,615 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 999 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 39.9% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 2,340 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 36,481 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $7,435,000 after acquiring an additional 9,241 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in VeriSign by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 33,641 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,962,000 after acquiring an additional 14,513 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $8,310,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $245,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.82, for a total value of $1,424,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 526,772 shares in the company, valued at $150,035,201.04. This trade represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,505 shares of company stock valued at $11,130,549. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
VeriSign Price Performance
Shares of VRSN stock traded down $4.40 on Tuesday, hitting $263.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,195,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 881,060. The business has a 50 day moving average of $281.41 and a 200 day moving average of $260.49. The stock has a market cap of $24.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $172.49 and a 12-month high of $310.60.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released 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. 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 analyst estimates of $410.35 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. VeriSign's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year.
VeriSign announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
VeriSign Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.75%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts recently issued reports on VRSN shares. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st.
Read Our Latest Report on VRSN
About VeriSign
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider VeriSign, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and VeriSign wasn't on the list.
While VeriSign currently has a Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Enter your email address and we'll send you MarketBeat's list of ten stocks that are set to soar in Fall 2025, despite the threat of tariffs and other economic uncertainty. These ten stocks are incredibly resilient and are likely to thrive in any economic environment.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
MarketBeat All Access