Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,326,799 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,751 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $670,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 56.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.24, for a total value of $1,416,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 489,439 shares in the company, valued at $138,628,702.36. This represents a 1.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of VeriSign 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 28,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,033.99. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,539 shares of company stock valued at $12,990,759. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.5%

VRSN opened at $252.88 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $176.62 and a 12 month high of $310.60. The company has a market cap of $23.44 billion, a PE ratio of 29.47 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $265.20 and a 200 day moving average of $274.04.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.02. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information services provider to buy 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 stock is undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 35.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.