Shell Asset Management Co. Purchases 930 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 25.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,613 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 930 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in VeriSign by 16.7% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 125,680 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,296,000 after acquiring an additional 18,000 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 8.2% during the second quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,471 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter worth $226,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 10.9% during the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 14,584 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,212,000 after buying an additional 1,436 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $261.95 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.62 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The stock has a market cap of $24.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average is $275.54 and its 200 day moving average is $273.55.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information services provider to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.48, for a total value of $576,960.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 476,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $137,443,122.72. The trade was a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.87, for a total transaction of $135,705.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 34,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,396,480.30. This represents a 1.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,205 shares of company stock valued at $10,577,083 over the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.