Baird Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group reduced its Verisk Analytics stake by 6% in the second quarter, selling 13,319 shares and retaining 208,880 shares worth approximately $37.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 90% of the company.
• Verisk exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.98 in earnings per share on $806.3 million in revenue, while revenue increased 4.3% year over year. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $7.45–$7.75.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, equivalent to a 1.1% annualized yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $226.71, although insiders sold shares during the quarter.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 208,880 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 13,319 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Verisk Analytics worth $37,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 141.7% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 145 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of VRSK stock opened at $175.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.01, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.66. The company's 50 day moving average is $190.38 and its 200 day moving average is $185.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.94 and a 52-week high of $267.26.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $806.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $804.02 million. Verisk Analytics had a negative return on equity of 239.55% and a net margin of 28.24%.Verisk Analytics's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is 30.72%.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, CEO Lee Shavel sold 3,535 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.43, for a total value of $683,775.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 98,490 shares in the company, valued at $19,050,920.70. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kathy Beckles sold 2,020 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.49, for a total transaction of $394,889.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,251,262.84. This represents a 14.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 11,990 shares of company stock valued at $2,396,828 over the last quarter. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on VRSK. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $225.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Verisk Analytics from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $247.00 price objective on Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $226.71.

About Verisk Analytics

Verisk Analytics, Inc NASDAQ: VRSK, commonly known as Verisk, is a data analytics and technology company that helps organizations manage risk and make informed decisions. The company primarily serves the insurance industry, providing data, predictive analytics, software and decision-support tools for property and casualty insurers, life insurers and other risk-focused businesses.

Verisk's products and services support insurance underwriting, pricing, claims management, catastrophe modeling, fraud detection, actuarial analysis and regulatory compliance.

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