UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Sells 1,026 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• UniSuper Management Pty Ltd reduced its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. by 4.6% during the first quarter, selling 1,026 shares and bringing its total ownership to 21,076 shares, valued at approximately $5.35 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Advisors Asset Management Inc. and Cromwell Holdings LLC, have increased their stakes in VeriSign, reflecting an overall trend of institutional ownership at 92.90% of the company's stock.
• VeriSign's recent quarter earnings reported EPS of $2.21, slightly exceeding analyst expectations, and a 5.9% year-over-year increase in revenue, alongside a dividend announcement of $0.77 per share.

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,076 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,026 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd's holdings in VeriSign were worth $5,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in VeriSign by 13,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in VeriSign by 106.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $277.50.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.3%

VRSN traded down $3.85 during trading on Friday, hitting $285.52. 449,905 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 863,946. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $277.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $267.92. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.62 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.07 and a beta of 0.79.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%.The business had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total transaction of $1,320,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 508,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at $134,392,123.80. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 47,706 shares of company stock worth $13,265,439. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.