Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $300.74 and last traded at $300.37, with a volume of 209990 shares. The stock had previously closed at $296.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRSK. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays downgraded Verisk Analytics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $299.33.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

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 business's fifty day moving average is $285.21 and its 200 day moving average is $278.90. The company has a market cap of $41.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.37, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Verisk Analytics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.87%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in 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 typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In related news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.95, for a total transaction of $347,746.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,066,180.70. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,557,155.96. This represents a 18.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,469 shares of company stock worth $1,264,818. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

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.