Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Position Trimmed by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. decreased its holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,900 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,400 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.08% of Verisk Analytics worth $29,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRSK. 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of Verisk Analytics stock traded down $1.87 during trading on Thursday, reaching $294.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 328,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 768,188. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $222.61 and a 12-month high of $306.68. The company has a market capitalization of $41.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $291.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $285.12.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $735.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.55 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is a boost from Verisk Analytics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is 26.87%.

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports 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 cut shares of Verisk Analytics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $310.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America assumed 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 for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $297.40.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.38, for a total value of $88,614.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,922,507.70. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,940,865.96. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,837 shares of company stock worth $1,121,618. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.