Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Buys 43,273 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 214,786 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,273 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.23% of VeriSign worth $62,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 334 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.52, for a total transaction of $81,669.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 33,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,278,224.60. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Calys sold 1,001 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.71, for a total transaction of $242,952.71. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,734 shares in the company, valued at $6,003,189.14. This trade represents a 3.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,539 shares of company stock worth $11,247,519. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $250.49 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $266.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $274.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.19 and a beta of 0.76. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $176.62 and a 12-month high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. The firm had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 35.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of VeriSign from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.