Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 42,259 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,652,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRSK. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSK traded up $3.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $289.36. 250,931 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 781,561. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.34 and a 1-year high of $306.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $292.24 and a 200 day moving average of $282.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36.

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

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. This is an increase from Verisk Analytics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.87%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Verisk Analytics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $310.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $297.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.95, for a total transaction of $347,746.05. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,066,180.70. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total value of $595,428.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,155.96. The trade was a 18.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,648 shares of company stock valued at $1,628,433 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

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.