VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by Applied Finance Capital Management LLC

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 11.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,575 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 338 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $17,775,000 after acquiring an additional 54,759 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter worth $1,003,000. Clarius Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 395.9% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 362 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of VRSN opened at $264.79 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $274.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $274.04. The company has a market capitalization of $24.73 billion, a PE ratio of 31.60 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.62 and a 52-week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $409.90 million during 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%. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.75%.

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors 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 buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total value of $1,320,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 508,772 shares in the company, valued at $134,392,123.80. This trade represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,706 shares of company stock valued at $10,591,676. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.