VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Stock Holdings Cut by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. cut its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 34.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,238 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,191 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $646,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,506 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 2,183 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gries Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VRSN shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings cut VeriSign from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on VeriSign in a research note 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.67.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total value of $592,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,033.99. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.24, for a total value of $1,416,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 489,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,628,702.36. This trade represents a 1.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 41,539 shares of company stock valued at $11,247,519 in the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock opened at $248.68 on Wednesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $176.62 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $266.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.52. The firm has a market cap of $23.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.98 and a beta of 0.76.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 35.90%.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.