VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Position Reduced by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,090 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 213 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $11,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% in 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 last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $287.50.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.4%

VeriSign stock opened at $247.08 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $22.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $273.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $274.95. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.62 and a 52 week high of $310.60.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total transaction of $1,320,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 508,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,392,123.80. This trade represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,706 shares of company stock worth $12,451,906. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.