VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Stock Holdings Lifted by Abacus FCF Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Abacus FCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 1.7% during the second quarter, owning 54,869 shares with a value of approximately $15.85 million.
• VeriSign's stock underwent significant activity as other investors, including Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC and UMB Bank n.a., also increased their holdings in the second quarter, leading to 92.90% of shares now owned by institutional investors.
• The company recently announced a $1.11 billion stock repurchase program and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, signifying confidence in its stock value and financial health.

Abacus FCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,869 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 938 shares during the quarter. VeriSign makes up 2.2% of Abacus FCF Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of VeriSign worth $15,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRSN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 1.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 119,555 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 75.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,329,640 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $586,417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,510 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 71.3% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,202,278 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $307,098,000 after acquiring an additional 500,223 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 5.5% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,157,422 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $293,835,000 after acquiring an additional 60,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,024,095 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $259,987,000 after acquiring an additional 49,478 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.50.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock traded up $1.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $284.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 388,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 859,370. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $277.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $270.64. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $175.62 and a one year high of $310.60. The stock has a market cap of $26.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.96 and a beta of 0.79.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

VeriSign declared that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $189,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,284 shares in the company, valued at $4,126,680. This trade represents a 4.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.48, for a total transaction of $576,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,443,122.72. The trade was a 0.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,706 shares of company stock worth $12,733,269 in the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.