Bank of Nova Scotia Has $13.35 Million Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 156.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 53,759 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,810 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $13,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in VeriSign by 788.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in VeriSign by 120.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: VeriSign reported second-quarter results that topped estimates, with EPS of $2.38 versus $2.36 expected and revenue of $434.6 million, up 6% year over year. The stronger-than-expected quarter suggests steady demand for domain registrations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company lifted its FY2026 outlook, calling for revenue of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion, reinforcing confidence that growth can continue after the latest quarter. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: VeriSign announced that .web has been delegated into the DNS root zone, with the company as registry operator. That adds a potential long-term growth opportunity for domain registrations and registry revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush raised its price target on VeriSign to $324 from $318 and kept an outperform rating, implying additional upside relative to the current trading level. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan also raised its price target to $316 from $308, even while maintaining a neutral rating, signaling improved expectations for the stock’s value. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: VeriSign declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, which supports the stock’s income profile but is not a major growth driver by itself.

VeriSign Stock Up 7.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $280.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.37 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $312.48. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $276.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $259.26.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.73%. The company had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued 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 $328.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 439,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total value of $141,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at $10,363,670.54. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 26,300 shares of company stock worth $7,125,942 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

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.