Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Verisk Analytics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $314.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $334.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Verisk Analytics from $262.00 to $250.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $278.64.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of Verisk Analytics stock opened at $220.41 on Friday. Verisk Analytics has a one year low of $196.99 and a one year high of $322.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.55, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $30.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $220.76 and its 200 day moving average is $246.44.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $768.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $776.04 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 30.42% and a return on equity of 425.42%. Verisk Analytics’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.800-7.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 27.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In related news, Director Jeffrey J. Dailey purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $217.03 per share, for a total transaction of $108,515.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $859,872.86. This trade represents a 14.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sabra R. Purtill bought 450 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $217.95 per share, with a total value of $98,077.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 1,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $289,219.65. This trade represents a 51.31% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders bought 1,450 shares of company stock valued at $314,663 and sold 1,700 shares valued at $369,648. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRSK. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 0.4% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,809,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.1% during the second quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. EWA LLC boosted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 3.6% in the second quarter. EWA LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accretive Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Verisk Analytics

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.