Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Sells 11,218 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec decreased its stake in VeriSign by 11.8% during Q1, selling 11,218 shares, leaving it with approximately 0.09% ownership valued at $21.25 million.
• VeriSign has authorized a $1.11 billion stock buyback program, indicating the board believes the stock may be undervalued.
• The company recently declared a $0.77 quarterly dividend, translating to an annualized dividend of $3.08 with a yield of 1.1%.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec trimmed its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 83,717 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 11,218 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned about 0.09% of VeriSign worth $21,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in VeriSign by 491.4% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,392 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 6,142 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 2.8% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC bought a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $252,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $374,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 974,617 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $201,707,000 after acquiring an additional 98,985 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSN traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $273.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 826,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 884,858. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $278.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $264.87. The stock has a market cap of $25.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.62 and a beta of 0.78. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information services provider to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.75%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.82, for a total value of $1,424,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 526,772 shares in the company, valued at $150,035,201.04. This trade represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 47,205 shares of company stock valued at $13,084,682. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus 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.