Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Acquired by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,691,016 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,045 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $1,292,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 233.9% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,666 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 57.9% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the third quarter worth about $79,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 90.0% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,453,000 after buying an additional 6,105 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 30.2% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 7,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total value of $348,229.44. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,071,832.96. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total transaction of $595,428.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,557,155.96. This trade represents a 18.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,648 shares of company stock valued at $1,613,047. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VRSK shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $299.33.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 6.6 %

NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $284.99 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $39.98 billion, a PE ratio of 44.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $292.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $282.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.34 and a 52 week high of $306.68.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $735.60 million during 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%. On average, analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

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

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

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

Verisk Analytics Company 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.