Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Acquired by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,568 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,283 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Verisk Analytics worth $22,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 468.8% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:VRSK traded up $3.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $295.85. The stock had a trading volume of 133,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 777,865. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $292.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $283.30. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.34 and a 1-year high of $306.68. The company has a market capitalization of $41.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Remove Ads

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.01. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. The business had revenue of $735.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.55 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

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 $0.45 dividend. 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 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.87%.

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRSK shares. Barclays downgraded Verisk Analytics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $310.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $297.40.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total transaction of $595,428.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,557,155.96. The trade was a 18.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.95, for a total transaction of $347,746.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,066,180.70. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,648 shares of company stock valued at $1,628,433 in the last quarter. 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.