Bryce Point Capital LLC Acquires New Stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,780 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $490,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VRSK. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 468.8% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total value of $595,428.66. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,557,155.96. The trade was a 18.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total value of $348,229.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,071,832.96. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,648 shares of company stock valued at $1,628,433. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

VRSK traded down $7.34 during trading on Thursday, hitting $282.00. The stock had a trading volume of 473,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 779,428. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.34 and a 12 month high of $306.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36. The firm has a market cap of $39.56 billion, a PE ratio of 43.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $292.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $282.84.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $735.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $733.55 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. Analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from Verisk Analytics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is presently 26.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays downgraded Verisk Analytics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $310.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. 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 note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $297.40.

Verisk Analytics Profile

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.