VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd

Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd trimmed its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 2.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 47,251 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,275 shares during the period. VeriSign accounts for approximately 2.4% of Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $13,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 17.0% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 406 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in VeriSign by 28.8% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,244 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,481,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 16.8% during the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,808 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,033.99. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The sale 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 that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were 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 directly owned 471,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 47,839 shares of company stock valued at $12,660,539 over the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRSN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.67.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $255.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $260.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.29. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.85 and a 1-year high of $310.60. The company has a market cap of $23.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80 and a beta of 0.76.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.90%.

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.