Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $289.80.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VRSK shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "in-line" rating and issued a $279.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $285.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.49, for a total value of $57,298.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 15,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,471,535.92. This trade represents a 1.27 % 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, CEO Lee Shavel sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.71, for a total transaction of $280,710.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,923,385.73. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,400 shares of company stock worth $678,764 over the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verisk Analytics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

VRSK traded down $1.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $277.30. 480,115 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 777,800. The company has a market capitalization of $39.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.26, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $274.14. 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 has a 52-week low of $217.34 and a 52-week high of $296.58.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.07. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. The firm had revenue of $725.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.19 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. Verisk Analytics's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.34%.

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.