Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Buys New Stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 91,936 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $25,322,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned about 0.07% of Verisk Analytics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 897 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Bell Bank raised its holdings in 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 last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners boosted its position in Verisk Analytics by 4.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Haverford Trust Co grew its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 5.4% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In related news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.86, for a total value of $337,028.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,940,865.96. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.38, for a total value of $88,614.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,922,507.70. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,837 shares of company stock worth $1,121,618. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK traded up $2.36 on Monday, hitting $288.41. The company had a trading volume of 777,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 773,754. 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 52-week low of $217.34 and a 52-week high of $306.68. The business has a 50 day moving average of $291.59 and a 200 day moving average of $284.99. The company has a market cap of $40.36 billion, a PE ratio of 44.99, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VRSK shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective 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. Bank of America started coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.