Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Decreases Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,911 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,232 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.08% of VeriSign worth $21,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 19.6% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 573 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 67.2% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 60,985 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,482,000 after acquiring an additional 24,504 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 51.2% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 18,152 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,608,000 after buying an additional 6,148 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 1.6% during the first quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 14,551 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,694,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total transaction of $523,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 460,439 shares in the company, valued at $120,423,216.06. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.52, for a total value of $81,669.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,278,224.60. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 48,039 shares of company stock valued at $12,990,731. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $241.97 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $267.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $274.73. The company has a market cap of $22.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.20 and a beta of 0.76. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $176.62 and a 52 week high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.The firm had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders 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 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 35.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of VeriSign from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.67.

About VeriSign

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.