Fmr LLC Acquires 72,045 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

FMR LLC grew its stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,691,016 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 72,045 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned approximately 3.32% of Verisk Analytics worth $1,292,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 468.8% in 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 acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of Verisk Analytics stock traded up $6.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $291.88. 835,049 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 781,406. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $292.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $283.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $40.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.54, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.34 and a 52 week high of $306.68.

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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. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. The business had revenue of $735.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $733.55 million. Research analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,557,155.96. This trade represents a 18.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total transaction of $348,229.44. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,786 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold 5,648 shares of company stock valued at $1,628,433 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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