Pensionfund Sabic Has $1.35 Million Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Pensionfund Sabic decreased its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 18.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,300 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Pensionfund Sabic’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 13,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VeriSign stock opened at $285.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.07 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.62 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $277.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $268.25.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.75%.

VeriSign declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information services provider to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.28, for a total value of $141,422.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,933,715.48. This trade represents a 1.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 15,284 shares in the company, valued at $4,126,680. This represents a 4.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,706 shares of company stock valued at $13,265,439 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.