Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $3.95 Million Investment in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 14,322 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,945,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRSK. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 897 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Bell Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Bell Bank now owns 1,005 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,076 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Haverford Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 903 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRSK. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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 on the stock. in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America started coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $298.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verisk Analytics news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,071,832.96. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,665 shares in the company, valued at $4,922,507.70. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,837 shares of company stock valued at $1,121,618. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

VRSK traded down $2.05 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $307.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 948,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 763,411. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company's 50-day moving average is $291.96 and its 200-day moving average is $286.12. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.28 and a 52 week high of $313.16. The firm has a market cap of $43.08 billion, a PE ratio of 48.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $753.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $750.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Verisk Analytics's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.87%.

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

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.