Stephens Inc. AR Lowers Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,838 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of VRSN opened at $250.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $274.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $274.39. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.62 and a 1-year high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $277.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total transaction of $523,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 460,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,423,216.06. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.92, for a total value of $131,722.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 34,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,988,971.88. The trade was a 1.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,706 shares of company stock valued at $12,451,906. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.