Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $237.20.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRSK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $225.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Verisk Analytics from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $239.00 to $206.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $224.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, March 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Christopher John Perry purchased 1,000 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $180.00 per share, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $538,920. This trade represents a 50.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.22, for a total transaction of $63,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,118,164.48. The trade was a 2.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 1,200 shares of company stock valued at $214,200 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 295.8% during the third quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 20,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,067,000 after buying an additional 15,058 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 90,522 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,249,000 after purchasing an additional 18,461 shares in the last quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 50.7% during the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $106,802,000 after purchasing an additional 142,911 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 6.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,196,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $300,931,000 after purchasing an additional 73,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the third quarter valued at about $1,256,000. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSK opened at $170.71 on Wednesday. Verisk Analytics has a twelve month low of $155.94 and a twelve month high of $322.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $201.82. The company has a market capitalization of $22.37 billion, a PE ratio of 25.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.06. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 29.34% and a negative return on equity of 2,405.75%. The business had revenue of $782.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $771.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.73 earnings per share. Verisk Analytics’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.44%.

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Company Profile

Verisk Analytics, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSK) is a data analytics and decision?support provider that helps organizations assess and manage risk. The company supplies data, predictive models and software to customers in insurance, reinsurance, financial services, government, energy and other commercial markets. Its offerings are designed to support underwriting, pricing, claims management, catastrophe modeling, fraud detection and regulatory compliance, enabling clients to make more informed operational and strategic decisions.

Verisk’s product portfolio combines large proprietary datasets with analytics platforms and industry?specific applications.