Credit Agricole S A Purchases 1,572 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A increased its stake in VeriSign by 8.9%, owning 19,200 shares valued at approximately $4.87 million following the acquisition of additional shares.
• VeriSign recently approved a share buyback plan allowing the purchase of up to $1.11 billion in outstanding shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, reflecting a 1.1% dividend yield, with the payment set for August 27th for shareholders recorded by August 19th.

Credit Agricole S A lifted its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,200 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares during the quarter. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in VeriSign were worth $4,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRSN. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $252,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 491.4% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,392 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 6,142 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 9,834 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,035,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its position in VeriSign by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 3,241 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172 shares during the period. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $252,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of VRSN traded up $3.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $269.99. 1,189,446 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 875,805. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.62 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $279.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $264.12.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The business's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

VeriSign announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.71, for a total value of $541,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 496,304 shares in the company, valued at $134,354,455.84. The trade was a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $189,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,126,680. The trade was a 4.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,205 shares of company stock valued at $13,084,682. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Company 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.