VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB lessened its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 82.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,217 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 283,374 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.06% of VeriSign worth $17,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in VeriSign in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 56.5% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in VeriSign in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in VeriSign in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related 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 transaction of $1,320,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 508,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,392,123.80. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 38,706 shares of company stock worth $10,591,676 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.9%

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $264.79 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.73 billion, a P/E 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $274.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $274.30.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.