Norinchukin Bank The Raises Stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Norinchukin Bank The lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,420 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,542 shares during the period. Verisk Analytics comprises 0.8% of Norinchukin Bank The's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Norinchukin Bank The owned 0.09% of Verisk Analytics worth $36,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 897 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Bell Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Bell Bank now owns 1,005 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,076 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Haverford Trust Co increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 903 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 0.6 %

Verisk Analytics stock traded down $1.64 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $288.41. The stock had a trading volume of 334,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 773,585. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.34 and a 12-month high of $306.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $291.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $284.43.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $735.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.55 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.87%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America started coverage on Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $297.40.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.38, for a total value of $88,614.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,922,507.70. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total value of $348,229.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,071,832.96. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,837 shares of company stock valued at $1,121,618 over the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Verisk Analytics

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.