Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 56.2% during Q2, now owning approximately 157,390 shares worth $45.45 million.
• VeriSign reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.21, slightly beating analyst estimates, and achieved a net margin of 50.05%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.1%, and has authorized a share repurchase program totaling $1.11 billion.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 56.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,390 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 201,907 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.17% of VeriSign worth $45,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its stake in VeriSign by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 2,183 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.7%

VRSN traded up $1.85 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $284.59. 357,040 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 859,083. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $277.62 and a 200 day moving average of $270.64. The stock has a market cap of $26.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.94 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.62 and a 52 week 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are 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 paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 36.75%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm's 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 owned 508,772 shares in the company, valued at $134,392,123.80. This trade represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 45,706 shares of company stock worth $12,733,269. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VRSN. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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.