Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 179,152 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Mackenzie Financial Corp decreased its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 32.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 380,237 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 179,152 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $109,812,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in VeriSign during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRSN. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.67.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $252.08 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $185.44 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $258.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.38 and a beta of 0.76.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 35.90%.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total transaction of $592,175.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,033.99. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.57, for a total value of $1,327,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 471,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,200,055.23. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 47,839 shares of company stock worth $12,660,539. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.