Czech National Bank Raises Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Czech National Bank increased its stake in VeriSign by 5.6%, owning 19,739 shares valued at approximately $5.7 million as of the end of the second quarter.
• VeriSign recently announced a $1.11 billion share buyback plan that allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its outstanding shares, indicating management's belief in the stock's undervaluation.
• The company reported Q2 earnings of $2.21 EPS, slightly exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue grew by 5.9% year-over-year, totaling $409.9 million.

Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 5.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,739 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in VeriSign were worth $5,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in VeriSign by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,514,290 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,669,263,000 after buying an additional 119,555 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 75.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,329,640 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $586,417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,510 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in VeriSign by 71.3% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,202,278 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $307,098,000 after purchasing an additional 500,223 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in VeriSign by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,157,422 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $293,835,000 after purchasing an additional 60,293 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in VeriSign by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,024,095 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $259,987,000 after purchasing an additional 49,478 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of VeriSign stock traded up $0.46 on Monday, reaching $282.74. 1,001,561 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 708,643. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.41 billion, a PE ratio of 33.74 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.62 and a 1-year high of $310.60. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $277.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $270.64.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%.The company had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $277.50.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total value of $1,320,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 508,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $134,392,123.80. This trade represents a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 45,706 shares of company stock valued at $12,733,269 in the last three months. Corporate 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.