NFP Retirement Inc. Sells 14,398 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

NFP Retirement Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 28.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,432 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 14,398 shares during the period. NFP Retirement Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $10,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in 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 period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its holdings in VeriSign by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 226 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its stake in VeriSign by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 2,183 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Gries Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.8% in the second quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.67.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $245.76 on Thursday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.95 and a 1-year high of $310.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.78 billion, a PE ratio of 28.64 and a beta of 0.76.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.The firm had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be given 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 1.3%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is 35.90%.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total value of $592,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,033.99. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.27, for a total value of $502,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 451,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,433,077.53. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 40,839 shares of company stock valued at $10,918,189 over the last quarter. 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.