Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $20.61 Million Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. by 26.8% in Q2, now owning 71,377 shares valued at approximately $20.61 million.
• VeriSign announced a stock buyback plan worth $1.11 billion, indicating that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
• The company reported earnings of $2.21 per share for the most recent quarter, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $409.9 million, marking a 5.9% year-over-year increase.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,377 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 26,197 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned 0.08% of VeriSign worth $20,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,514,290 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,669,263,000 after purchasing an additional 119,555 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 75.5% in the 1st 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 during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in VeriSign by 71.3% in the 1st 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 during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 5.5% in the 1st 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 during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in VeriSign by 5.1% in the 1st 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $261.95 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $275.54 and its 200-day moving average is $273.55. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.62 and a 52-week high of $310.60. The company has a market cap of $24.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign's payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.43, for a total transaction of $1,342,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 498,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,759,742.72. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,205 shares of company stock worth $10,577,083. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on VRSN shares. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $277.50.

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.

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