Savant Capital LLC Acquires 2,128 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 5.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,921 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $12,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,514,290 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,669,263,000 after buying an additional 119,555 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 75.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,329,640 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $586,417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,510 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in VeriSign by 71.3% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,202,278 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $307,098,000 after acquiring an additional 500,223 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,157,422 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $293,835,000 after purchasing an additional 60,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,024,095 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $259,987,000 after purchasing an additional 49,478 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 508,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,392,123.80. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total transaction of $592,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,577 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,033.99. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 48,039 shares of company stock valued at $12,990,731 over the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $241.97 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $267.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.38. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $176.62 and a 1-year high of $310.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.20 and a beta of 0.76.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $419.10 million during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 35.90%.

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information services provider to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.