Aviva PLC Has $23.63 Million Stock Holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Aviva PLC boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 24.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,788 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,635 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $23,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSK. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,652,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 26,374 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,264,000 after buying an additional 7,050 shares in the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,487 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth about $490,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Verisk Analytics stock opened at $284.99 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $292.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $282.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $39.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.34 and a 52 week high of $306.68.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $735.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.55 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. Equities research analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. This is a positive change from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.87%.

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total value of $595,428.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,155.96. This trade represents a 18.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.95, for a total transaction of $347,746.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,066,180.70. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,648 shares of company stock worth $1,613,047 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Profile

Verisk Analytics, Inc provides data analytics and technology solutions to the insurance markets in the United States and internationally. It offers policy language, prospective loss costs, policy writing and rating rules, and various underwriting solutions for risk selection and segmentation, pricing, and workflow optimization; property- and auto- specific rating and underwriting information solutions that allows clients to understand, quantify, underwrite, mitigate, and avoid potential loss for risks; catastrophe modeling solutions, which enables companies to identify, quantify, and plan for the financial consequences of catastrophes for use by insurers, reinsurers, intermediaries, financial institutions, and governments.