By Katherine Hamilton
Verisign was the best stock performer on the S&P 500 after the company posted higher first-quarter earnings and initiated a dividend.
The stock rose 9%, to $274.96, on Friday, touching what would be an all-time high at close. Shares have gained a third of their value this year.
The domain-name-registry provider on Thursday said first-quarter profit was $199 million, or $2.10 a share, compared with $194 million, or $1.92 a share, in the same period a year prior. Sales rose 4.7%, to $402 million.
Verisign ended the quarter with domain-name registrations up 1.1%, to 368.4 million.
The company also initiated a quarterly dividend of 77 cents a share. The new payout, equal to $3.08 a year, represents an annual yield of about 1.2% based on Thursday's closing price of $252.59. The dividend will be payable on May 28 to shareholders of record on May 19.
Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 25, 2025 11:47 ET (15:47 GMT)
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