VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Stake Cut by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC significantly reduced its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 75.9%, ending the first quarter with just 967 shares, valued at $245,000.
• VeriSign reported earnings of $2.21 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.20, and announced a share buyback plan totaling $1.11 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, with a current annualized yield of 1.1%.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 75.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 967 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,042 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,514,290 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,669,263,000 after purchasing an additional 119,555 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in VeriSign by 5.1% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,024,095 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $259,987,000 after purchasing an additional 49,478 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 704,279 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $145,758,000 after purchasing an additional 81,580 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 34,326.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 697,127 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $176,980,000 after buying an additional 695,102 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in VeriSign by 268.8% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 692,498 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $143,319,000 after buying an additional 504,748 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $285.71 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $277.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.42. The firm has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.09 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 released 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 firm had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%.VeriSign's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign declared that its board has authorized 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 buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 40,205 shares of company stock worth $11,140,077 over the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price 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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