USA Financial Formulas Sells 61 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

USA Financial Formulas decreased its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 918 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 61 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas’ holdings in VeriSign were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 56.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in VeriSign by 13,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.28, for a total value of $141,422.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,191 shares in the company, valued at $9,933,715.48. This trade represents a 1.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $189,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,284 shares in the company, valued at $4,126,680. This represents a 4.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,205 shares of company stock worth $12,587,894 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.7%

VeriSign stock opened at $274.92 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $25.68 billion, a PE ratio of 32.81 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average is $277.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.40. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.62 and a 1 year high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. VeriSign’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were 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 was Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.