15,842 Shares in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Purchased by Pinebridge Investments L.P.

Pinebridge Investments L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,842 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,363,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,421,008 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $391,389,000 after buying an additional 4,069 shares during the period. Quantessence Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $826,000. Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 574,232 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $158,161,000 after buying an additional 6,631 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 83,058 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $22,880,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 67.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 32,121 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,847,000 after purchasing an additional 12,925 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of VRSK stock traded up $2.36 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $288.41. 777,142 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 773,754. The stock's 50 day moving average is $291.59 and its 200-day moving average is $284.99. The company has a market cap of $40.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. 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 $306.68.

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

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

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Verisk Analytics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.87%.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In other news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.95, for a total transaction of $347,746.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,066,180.70. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,922,507.70. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,837 shares of company stock valued at $1,121,618. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSK has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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 report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on 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 initiated coverage on Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $297.40.

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.