Prudential PLC Reduces Holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Prudential PLC reduced its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 38.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,786 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,769 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $2,971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VRSK. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 188.2% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 25,637 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,454,000 after purchasing an additional 16,742 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth $212,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 63,217 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $16,940,000 after buying an additional 9,145 shares during the last quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI raised its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 61,889 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $17,046,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in Verisk Analytics by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 58,782 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,751,000 after buying an additional 2,042 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

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Verisk Analytics Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of VRSK stock traded up $6.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $291.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 835,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 781,406. The stock has a market cap of $40.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.54, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. 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 price of $292.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $283.17.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. Research analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.45 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.87%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays cut Verisk Analytics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $297.40.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total value of $595,428.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,155.96. This represents a 18.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total value of $348,229.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,071,832.96. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,648 shares of company stock worth $1,628,433 in the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.