Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Stake Lessened by AMF Tjanstepension AB

Key Points

• AMF Tjanstepension AB sold 11,672 shares of Verisk Analytics, reducing its stake by 30.8% and leaving it with a total of 26,228 shares valued at approximately $7.8 million.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing and Vanguard Group, significantly increased their stakes in Verisk Analytics during the first quarter, demonstrating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Verisk Analytics reported $1.88 earnings per share, exceeding consensus estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, indicating a stable financial outlook.

AMF Tjanstepension AB decreased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 30.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 26,228 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 11,672 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $7,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 24,838 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 29,815 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,212,000 after buying an additional 4,417 shares during the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. grew its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 69,973 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $19,273,000 after buying an additional 1,367 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 88,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $24,338,000 after acquiring an additional 24,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qtron Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Qtron Investments LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Verisk Analytics stock traded up $0.52 on Friday, hitting $265.04. 830,089 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,132,169. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $260.17 and a 52-week high of $322.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.34. The stock has a market cap of $37.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.84, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.83. The firm's 50-day moving average is $300.46 and its 200 day moving average is $297.08.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 30.67% and a return on equity of 460.89%. The firm had revenue of $772.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is 27.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.88, for a total value of $91,164.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 15,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,790,668.20. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 5,419 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.86, for a total value of $1,630,360.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 55,913 shares in the company, valued at $16,821,985.18. This represents a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,120 shares of company stock worth $7,192,416 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VRSK. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $317.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $315.00 target price on Verisk Analytics and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $305.60.

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.