American Century Companies Inc. Has $23.57 Million Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. significantly increased its holdings in VeriSign, acquiring a total of 92,825 shares, reflecting a growth of 548.1% in the first quarter.
• VeriSign is now seeing strong institutional support, with 92.90% of its stock owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• The company announced a $1.11 billion share buyback plan and reported a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, indicating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 548.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,825 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 78,503 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.10% of VeriSign worth $23,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,506 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 32.3% during the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 0.3% during the first quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,461 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,671,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 3.1% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,861 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in VeriSign by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 406 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.50, for a total value of $132,514.50. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,205 shares of company stock valued at $13,084,682. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

VeriSign Trading Up 1.4%

VeriSign stock traded up $3.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $269.99. 1,189,446 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 875,805. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.62 and a 12 month high of $310.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $279.20 and a 200 day moving average of $264.12. The firm has a market cap of $25.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.22 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

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.