Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC cut its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 56.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,681 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,034 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $1,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 68,997 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $19,004,000 after buying an additional 7,429 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Verisk Analytics by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 63,497 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,489,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 9,026 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares in the last quarter. Saiph Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $787,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 40,819 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,243,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,071,832.96. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,648 shares of company stock worth $1,613,047 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 0.8 %

Verisk Analytics stock traded up $2.36 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $287.76. The company had a trading volume of 992,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 723,586. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.34 and a 12-month high of $306.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $289.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $280.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.89, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.01. The company 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. 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 0.63%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays downgraded 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $299.33.

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.