Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Acquires 1,744 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. by 103.5% in the first quarter, bringing its total to 3,429 shares valued at approximately $871,000.
• VeriSign also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, along with a $1.11 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating the board's belief that the shares may be undervalued.
• Analysts at Robert W. Baird raised their price target for VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and maintained an "outperform" rating, while Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on the stock.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 103.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,429 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,744 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 35.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. Cache Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth approximately $685,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc raised its position in VeriSign by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,746,661,000 after buying an additional 455,844 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 358.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 70,017 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,775,000 after buying an additional 54,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at $329,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.45, for a total transaction of $532,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,772 shares in the company, valued at $135,029,399.40. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.50, for a total value of $132,514.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,767 shares in the company, valued at $9,724,871.50. This trade represents a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,006 shares of company stock worth $11,153,394 over the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.8%

VRSN stock traded up $2.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $271.42. The company had a trading volume of 668,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 879,818. The stock has a market cap of $25.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.39 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.62 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $280.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.40.

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 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%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VRSN shares. 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 report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, 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.