Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 1,947 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. reduced its stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,212 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,947 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $2,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRSK. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 468.8% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of VRSK stock opened at $286.05 on Friday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.34 and a 12 month high of $306.68. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $291.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $284.73. The firm has a market cap of $40.03 billion, a PE ratio of 44.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36.

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

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Verisk Analytics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is 26.87%.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.38, for a total transaction of $88,614.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,922,507.70. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 transaction of $348,229.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,071,832.96. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,837 shares of company stock worth $1,121,618 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on VRSK shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut Verisk Analytics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $297.40.

Verisk Analytics Company 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.

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