R Squared Ltd Takes Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,160 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $335,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total value of $523,080.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 460,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,423,216.06. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.92, for a total transaction of $131,722.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 34,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,988,971.88. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 45,706 shares of company stock worth $12,451,906. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VRSN stock opened at $247.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80 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’s fifty day moving average is $273.69 and its 200 day moving average is $274.47.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 41.04%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $287.50.

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.