MML Investors Services LLC Increases Stock Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,740 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,040 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $9,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 899.1% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,919 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 10,726 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 35,908 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,622,000 after acquiring an additional 4,767 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 479.1% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 16,853 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,516,000 after acquiring an additional 13,943 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Verisk Analytics by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 44,290 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $11,868,000 after acquiring an additional 2,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 16.9% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 63,217 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $16,940,000 after purchasing an additional 9,145 shares during the period. 90.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:VRSK traded down $1.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $285.02. 557,490 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 779,771. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.25 billion, a PE ratio of 44.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.87. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.34 and a 12-month high of $296.58. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $278.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $272.07.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.07. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. The firm had revenue of $725.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $722.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is 24.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on VRSK. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $263.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "in-line" rating and set a $279.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Verisk Analytics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.33, for a total value of $54,266.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,289,184.64. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lee Shavel sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.71, for a total transaction of $280,710.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,923,385.73. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,400 shares of company stock worth $678,764 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

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.