Insider Selling: Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Director Sells 6,765 Shares of Stock

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Director Samuel Liss sold 6,765 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.63, for a total value of $1,201,666.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 69,098 shares in the company, valued at $12,273,877.74. This trade represents a 8.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of VRSK stock traded up $1.67 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $180.00. 2,202,310 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,995,114. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.94 and a 1 year high of $322.92. The stock has a market cap of $23.58 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $176.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $198.61.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its quarterly 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 negative return on equity of 2,405.75% and a net margin of 29.34%.The business had revenue of $782.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $771.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.73 earnings per share. The company’s 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. Research analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is presently 30.44%.

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VRSK shares. Bank of America dropped their target price on Verisk Analytics from $225.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $223.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price target on Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Raymond James Financial raised Verisk Analytics from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $215.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Monday, March 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $237.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.