VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Purchased by New York State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 11.4%, owning approximately 0.08% of the company worth $21.88 million after acquiring an additional 7,737 shares.
• VeriSign announced a share buyback plan to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares, signaling potential confidence in its stock valuation.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $2.21, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue up 5.9% year-over-year.

New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,760 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,737 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of VeriSign worth $21,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter worth about $34,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $264.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.60 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $175.62 and a one year high of $310.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $274.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $274.04.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 EPS 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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 508,772 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 38,706 shares of company stock valued at $10,591,676 in the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VRSN shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $277.50.

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.

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