Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 3,912 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 63.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,235 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,912 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in VeriSign during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% in the 2nd 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 period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total transaction of $1,320,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 508,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,392,123.80. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,706 shares of company stock worth $12,451,906. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $239.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.95 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $175.62 and a one year high of $310.60. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $270.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.69.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.VeriSign’s 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 declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information services provider to buy 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.67.

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.