Vise Technologies Inc. Buys Shares of 3,581 VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,581 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,034,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in VeriSign in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in VeriSign during the second quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total value of $523,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 460,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,423,216.06. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Calys sold 1,001 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.71, for a total transaction of $242,952.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,003,189.14. The trade was a 3.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,539 shares of company stock worth $11,247,519. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of VeriSign from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.67.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.7%

NASDAQ VRSN traded up $4.22 on Thursday, reaching $254.71. The stock had a trading volume of 23,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 864,952. The company has a market capitalization of $23.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.70 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $266.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $274.36. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $176.62 and a 1 year high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. The business had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. During the same period in the previous 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 has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

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.