Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Stock Position Lowered by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 481,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 100,500 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.34% of Verisk Analytics worth $132,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 468.8% in 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSK traded up $3.12 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $295.00. 180,851 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 778,018. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $292.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $283.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36. The company has a market capitalization of $41.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a one year low of $217.34 and a one year high of $306.68.

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Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. The company had revenue of $735.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.55 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The firm 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 boost from Verisk Analytics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is currently 26.87%.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total transaction of $595,428.66. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.86, for a total value of $337,028.94. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,940,865.96. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays lowered Verisk Analytics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $310.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Bank of America began coverage on Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday. They set an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.