Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC lowered its stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 59.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 163,860 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Verisk Analytics worth $30,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 468.8% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO David J. Grover sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.68, for a total transaction of $1,755,314.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,937 shares in the company, valued at $3,980,456.16. This trade represents a 30.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total value of $348,229.44. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,071,832.96. This trade represents a 7.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,363 shares of company stock worth $2,529,187. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.40.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ VRSK opened at $309.57 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $43.30 billion, a PE ratio of 48.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $293.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.24. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $245.01 and a fifty-two week high of $312.82.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $753.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $750.31 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.35%.

About Verisk Analytics

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.