ClearAlpha Technologies LP Reduces Holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

ClearAlpha Technologies LP reduced its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 64.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,022 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,872 shares during the period. ClearAlpha Technologies LP's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,665 shares in the company, valued at $4,922,507.70. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.86, for a total value of $337,028.94. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,837 shares of company stock valued at $1,121,618. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of VRSK stock traded down $2.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $286.05. The company had a trading volume of 1,016,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 773,908. The stock has a market cap of $40.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.63, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $291.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $284.68. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.34 and a 52-week high of $306.68.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.01. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. The company had revenue of $735.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $733.55 million. Research analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. 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. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is presently 26.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays lowered Verisk Analytics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $297.40.

About Verisk Analytics

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.