Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $306.29 and last traded at $304.50, with a volume of 343545 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $299.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on VRSK. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $299.33.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $292.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $282.58. 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 stock has a market cap of $38.86 billion, a PE ratio of 43.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88.

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Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. 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 dividend yield of 0.65%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.87%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.86, for a total value of $337,028.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,940,865.96. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,155.96. The trade was 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 5,648 shares of company stock valued at $1,628,433. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 233.9% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,666 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the third quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in Verisk Analytics by 90.0% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,886 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,453,000 after purchasing an additional 6,105 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 7,190 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 57.1% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 136,700 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,630,000 after purchasing an additional 49,661 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company's stock.

About Verisk Analytics

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.