6,180 Shares in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Purchased by Bayesian Capital Management LP

Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,180 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,702,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. Norris Perne & French LLP MI increased its position in Verisk Analytics by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 61,889 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,046,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 105,331 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,011,000 after buying an additional 42,883 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 41,155 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $11,335,000 after buying an additional 2,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at $2,957,000. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSK opened at $293.90 on Monday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $291.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $285.69. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $237.09 and a twelve month high of $306.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36.

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

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Verisk Analytics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.87%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $297.40.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total transaction of $348,229.44. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,071,832.96. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.38, for a total transaction of $88,614.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,665 shares in the company, valued at $4,922,507.70. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,837 shares of company stock valued at $1,121,618 over the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verisk Analytics 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.

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