Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 7,770 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. by 16.6%, selling 7,770 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with 38,913 shares valued at approximately $9.88 million.
• VeriSign has been rated as a "Buy" by analysts, with a consensus price target of $277.50 and recent price upgrades that include Robert W. Baird raising its price target to $305.00.
• The company announced a $1.11 billion stock buyback program and recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, reflecting a yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 36.75%.

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 16.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,913 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 7,770 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in VeriSign were worth $9,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 13,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in VeriSign during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.50.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $272.37 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.50 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.62 and a 1 year high of $310.60. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $278.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $264.21.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.50, for a total transaction of $132,514.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,724,871.50. This trade represents a 1.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.71, for a total transaction of $541,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 496,304 shares in the company, valued at $134,354,455.84. This trade represents a 0.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 47,205 shares of company stock worth $13,084,682. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

VeriSign 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRSN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.