Parnassus Investments LLC Acquires 322,345 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK

Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,815,060 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 322,345 shares during the quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $406,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 25.6% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 295.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 20,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,067,000 after purchasing an additional 15,058 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 77.0% during the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 59,083 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,860,000 after purchasing an additional 25,712 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management lifted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 7,265.5% during the 4th quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 31,156 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,969,000 after purchasing an additional 30,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 2,071.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 37,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,374,000 after purchasing an additional 35,554 shares during the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 2,336 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.99, for a total value of $408,776.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,776,741.32. This trade represents a 12.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Samuel G. Liss sold 4,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.21, for a total transaction of $851,102.91. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 69,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,590,346.58. The trade was a 6.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,307 shares of company stock worth $3,076,222. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 0.6%

VRSK opened at $182.00 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.70, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.69. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.94 and a 1-year high of $314.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $175.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.92.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $782.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $771.62 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 29.34% and a negative return on equity of 2,405.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.73 EPS. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.750 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VRSK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Verisk Analytics from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $215.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $237.20.

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.