Barclays PLC Sells 9,525 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Barclays PLC cut its stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 409,083 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,525 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.29% of Verisk Analytics worth $112,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 468.8% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,071,832.96. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 transaction of $88,614.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,837 shares of company stock worth $1,121,618 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK traded up $0.79 during trading on Friday, reaching $293.02. The stock had a trading volume of 502,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 775,801. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.34 and a 52 week high of $306.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm's fifty day moving average is $292.29 and its 200 day moving average is $283.99. The stock has a market cap of $41.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $735.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.55 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is a positive change from Verisk Analytics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is currently 26.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VRSK shares. Bank of America started coverage on Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on 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, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.