Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $3.69 Million Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 44.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,384 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,149 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $3,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRSK. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ:VRSK traded up $4.86 on Thursday, hitting $296.89. 852,357 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 722,112. The stock has a market cap of $41.65 billion, a PE ratio of 46.32, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.34 and a fifty-two week high of $306.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $290.13 and a 200-day moving average of $281.08.

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Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.01. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. The company had revenue of $735.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $733.55 million. 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 has initiated a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. This is an increase from Verisk Analytics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In related news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.81, for a total transaction of $321,642.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,760,958.66. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the 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 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 a total of 5,648 shares of company stock worth $1,613,047 in the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VRSK shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays downgraded shares of Verisk Analytics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $299.33.

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.