Vinva Investment Management Ltd Increases Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 406.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,873 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,508 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd owned about 0.08% of VeriSign worth $22,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRSN. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 75.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,329,640 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $586,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,510 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 477.1% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 791,271 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $200,880,000 after buying an additional 654,170 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 161.4% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 860,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $248,388,000 after purchasing an additional 531,041 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 71.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,202,278 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $307,098,000 after purchasing an additional 500,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in VeriSign in the second quarter worth $124,066,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total value of $592,175.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,033.99. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.57, for a total value of $1,327,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 471,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $125,200,055.23. The trade was a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,839 shares of company stock valued at $12,660,539. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $252.67 on Thursday. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $185.33 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.45 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $259.46 and a 200 day moving average of $272.16.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.