California State Teachers Retirement System Boosts Stock Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 246,201 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,817 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.18% of Verisk Analytics worth $67,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Norris Perne & French LLP MI boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 61,889 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $17,046,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 68.7% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 42,883 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 41,155 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $11,335,000 after purchasing an additional 2,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth $2,957,000. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 0.2 %

VRSK traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $293.90. 849,642 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 763,056. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $291.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.13 billion, a PE ratio of 45.85, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. 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 52-week low of $233.78 and a 52-week high of $306.68.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $733.55 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Verisk Analytics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Verisk Analytics's 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 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on VRSK shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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 dropped their price target on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. Barclays lowered 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $297.40.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $4,922,507.70. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total transaction of $348,229.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,071,832.96. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,837 shares of company stock worth $1,121,618. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.