Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by Caxton Associates LP

Caxton Associates LP reduced its stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 28.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,528 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,975 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $2,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 6.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,231,201 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $331,476,000 after purchasing an additional 78,376 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Verisk Analytics by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,306 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at $1,432,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,605,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of VRSK stock traded up $13.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $309.90. 1,510,851 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 762,739. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.28 and a 52-week high of $312.55. The stock has a market cap of $43.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock's fifty day moving average is $291.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $286.12.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $753.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.31 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. This is a boost from Verisk Analytics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is presently 26.87%.

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays downgraded 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set 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 stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $297.40.

Insider Activity

In other Verisk Analytics news, 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 directly owns 16,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,922,507.70. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,071,832.96. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,837 shares of company stock valued at $1,121,618 in the last ninety days. 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.