Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Has $248.39 Million Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 161.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 860,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 531,041 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $248,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 1.8% in the first 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 stake in VeriSign by 25.3% in the first 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, Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 32.3% in the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Stock Down 1.7%

VRSN stock opened at $274.92 on Thursday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.62 and a 12 month high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $25.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.81 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $277.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.40.

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

VeriSign announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 36.75%.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.28, for a total transaction of $141,422.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,933,715.48. The trade was a 1.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $189,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,126,680. This represents a 4.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,205 shares of company stock valued at $12,587,894. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VRSN. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $277.50.

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.