Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Has $74.69 Million Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 267,150 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 17,730 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $74,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 112.5% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the third quarter worth $29,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the second quarter worth $34,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, North Capital Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 239.0% in the 3rd quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 139 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about VeriSign

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board raised the quarterly dividend 5.2% to $0.81 per share (annualized yield ~1.5%); dividend payable Feb. 27 with an ex-dividend date of Feb. 19 — supports income-oriented holders. Dividend Increase Article
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying market demand remains intact: DNIB reports 386.9M domain name registrations at end of Q4 2025, up 2.2% quarter‑over‑quarter — a demand tailwind for VeriSign’s .com/.net registry business. DNIB Domain Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue showed modest strength: Q4 revenue of $425.3M beat consensus by ~$1.3M and rose 7.6% year‑over‑year — a sign of stable top‑line momentum. Q4 Slide Deck / Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Company updated FY‑2026 revenue guidance roughly in line with Street expectations (~$1.7B), which keeps growth expectations steady but offers limited upside surprise. Guidance / Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: EPS missed: Q4 GAAP EPS was $2.23 vs. consensus $2.29 (miss of $0.06). Despite healthy margins, management reported a negative return on equity metric that may reflect capital structure/buyback accounting and raised investor concern. Earnings Summary / Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity: an EVP sold 498 shares (~$249 avg) disclosed Feb. 3 — small in size but sometimes interpreted negatively in the short term. Insider Sale Filing

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $224.17 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $246.06 and a 200-day moving average of $259.51. The firm has a market cap of $20.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.44 and a beta of 0.75. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.86 and a twelve month high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.06). VeriSign had a net margin of 49.84% and a negative return on equity of 41.14%. The company had revenue of $425.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This is a boost from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research downgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.00.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.59, for a total value of $1,222,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 434,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,176,274.41. This trade represents a 1.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,496 shares of company stock worth $9,248,893. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign’s registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.