Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Given New $320.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Robert W. Baird from $298.00 to $320.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the business services provider's stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on VRSK. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $263.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $313.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays downgraded 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $299.33.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

VRSK stock traded up $4.42 during trading on Thursday, reaching $301.33. 990,293 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 747,127. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $284.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $278.42. 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 $42.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. Verisk Analytics has a twelve month low of $217.34 and a twelve month high of $302.25.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.01. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. The firm had revenue of $735.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.55 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

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

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.81, for a total value of $321,642.99. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,760,958.66. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,557,155.96. This trade represents a 18.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,469 shares of company stock worth $1,264,818. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $7,454,000 after purchasing an additional 16,742 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at about $212,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 899.1% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,919 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,913,000 after buying an additional 10,726 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in Verisk Analytics by 479.1% during the third quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 16,853 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,516,000 after purchasing an additional 13,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 35,908 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,622,000 after acquiring an additional 4,767 shares in the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.