TD Asset Management Inc Lowers Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

TD Asset Management Inc trimmed its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 594,184 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 54,991 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned about 0.63% of VeriSign worth $171,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morningstar Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,333,000. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $211,000. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 88.2% in the 2nd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,113 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $394,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.50.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $265.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $24.75 billion, a PE ratio of 31.62 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $275.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.99. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.62 and a 52 week high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The business had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. VeriSign’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

VeriSign announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information services provider to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $134,392,123.80. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $189,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,284 shares in the company, valued at $4,126,680. The trade was a 4.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,205 shares of company stock worth $8,603,983. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.