Vident Advisory LLC Reduces Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC reduced its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. by 44.6% during the first quarter, now owning 3,758 shares valued at approximately $954,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc., increased their stakes in VeriSign, highlighting strong institutional interest in the company.
• VeriSign announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, representing a 1.1% yield, and initiated a $1.11 billion stock buyback program, indicating management's confidence in the stock's value.

Vident Advisory LLC decreased its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 44.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,758 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,020 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,514,290 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,669,263,000 after acquiring an additional 119,555 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,097,129 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $227,062,000 after acquiring an additional 403,760 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 5.1% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,024,095 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $259,987,000 after acquiring an additional 49,478 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 13.1% in 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 valued at $145,758,000 after acquiring an additional 81,580 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $176,980,000 after acquiring an additional 695,102 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.71, for a total transaction of $541,420.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 496,304 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $134,354,455.84. This trade represents a 0.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.46, for a total value of $135,500.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,692 shares in the company, valued at $9,653,258.32. This trade represents a 1.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,205 shares of company stock valued at $13,082,187. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $277.08 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $277.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.13. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.62 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The company has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.06 and a beta of 0.79.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.75%.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information services provider to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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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