Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is buying up shares of internet domain provider VeriSign

• Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in VeriSign to $2.7 billion, becoming its largest shareholder.
• VeriSign, founded in 1995, is known for its high profit margin and ranks fifth in the S&P 500.
• VeriSign stock is down 2% year-to-date, completely sitting out the broader stock market rally.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is buying up shares of internet domain services provider VeriSign.

A Form 4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday revealed Berkshire Hathaway’s latest acquisition of 143,424 shares in the three trading sessions that ended December 24. It has purchased a total of 377,736 shares for about $74 million in the six trading sessions that ended on the same date, according to regulatory filings.

Altogether, Berkshire Hathaway owns 13.2 million shares of the company, worth about $2.7 billion.

That makes Berkshire Hathaway the largest shareholder of the internet company, which was founded in 1995.

Shares of VeriSign rose nearly 2% on Friday to hit their highest level since late January, before giving up those gains and trading about flat amid a broader stock market sell-off.

Berkshire Hathaway is quite familiar with VeriSign, as they first purchased shares of the company over a decade ago, in the fourth quarter of 2012.

One reason that could be fueling Berkshire Hathaway’s decision to add more exposure to VeriSign is its high-profit margin.

According to financial data as of the third quarter, the company is ranked fifth in the S&P 500 for the highest profit margin, at about 56%, tied with Nvidia. For operating margin, VeriSign is ranked third, and for gross margin, it’s ranked 13th.

Business Insider reached out to Berkshire Hathaway for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Shares of VeriSign are down about 2% year-to-date, completely sitting out this year’s stock market rally, with the S&P 500 up about 25%. The stock is down about 21% from its record high reached in December 2021.