VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Purchased by BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 37.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 315,168 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,380 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned about 0.34% of VeriSign worth $91,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Down 1.8%

VRSN opened at $240.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.99 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $176.62 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $269.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.84.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 35.90%.

VeriSign announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information services provider to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total transaction of $592,175.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,033.99. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total transaction of $1,320,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 508,772 shares in the company, valued at $134,392,123.80. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 47,705 shares of company stock worth $12,909,061. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

About VeriSign

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.