VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC significantly reduced its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 77.1%, selling 137,315 shares during the second quarter, leaving them with 40,770 shares valued at approximately $11.79 million.
• VeriSign reported an EPS of $2.21 for the quarter, slightly exceeding analyst expectations, and experienced a 5.9% year-over-year revenue growth, totaling $409.90 million.
• The company has initiated a $1.11 billion stock buyback plan, allowing repurchase of up to 4.1% of its stock, which indicates management's confidence in the stock's undervaluation.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 77.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,770 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 137,315 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $11,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth $641,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 118.3% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 220,285 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $55,924,000 after buying an additional 119,368 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter valued at about $508,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter worth about $351,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 35.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $264.79 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $274.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $274.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.73 billion, a PE ratio of 31.60 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.62 and a 1-year high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.92, for a total value of $131,722.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 34,189 shares in the company, valued at $8,988,971.88. This represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.06, for a total value of $528,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 469,439 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $123,960,062.34. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,706 shares of company stock worth $10,591,676 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.50.

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.

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