Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 37.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,607 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,702 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $18,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.2% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,517 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Verisk Analytics by 19.0% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Verisk Analytics by 2.9% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. raised its position in Verisk Analytics by 28.4% during the first quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 208 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weil Company Inc. raised its position in Verisk Analytics by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 9,614 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,296,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total transaction of $88,743.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,470 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,033,483.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total transaction of $88,743.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,470 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,033,483.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total value of $55,476.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,551,251.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 726 shares of company stock valued at $196,682. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $268.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,023,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 609,432. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $271.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $254.02. The stock has a market cap of $38.28 billion, a PE ratio of 50.15, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.86. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.32 and a 1-year high of $287.13.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $716.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.45 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 252.11% and a net margin of 32.03%. The business's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VRSK shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $268.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $276.14.

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.