Bamco Inc. NY Sells 15,948 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Bamco Inc. NY cut its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,252,586 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 15,948 shares during the quarter. Verisk Analytics makes up approximately 0.9% of Bamco Inc. NY's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Bamco Inc. NY owned 0.89% of Verisk Analytics worth $345,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRSK. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 468.8% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRSK traded up $13.71 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $309.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,510,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 762,739. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.28 and a 12-month high of $312.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36. The business's 50-day moving average is $291.70 and its 200 day moving average is $285.95. The stock has a market cap of $43.37 billion, a PE ratio of 48.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.05. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. The firm had revenue of $753.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $750.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost 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 0.58%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is 26.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Verisk Analytics news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.95, for a total transaction of $347,746.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,066,180.70. This trade 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, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.38, for a total transaction of $88,614.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,922,507.70. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,837 shares of company stock worth $1,121,618 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on VRSK. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America began coverage on Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $297.40.

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.