Benjamin Edwards Inc. Purchases 38,534 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its Verisk Analytics stake by 20.1% in the second quarter, purchasing 38,534 shares and bringing its holdings to 230,100 shares valued at approximately $41.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 90% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Verisk receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $236.27, despite several recent target reductions.
• Verisk exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $1.98 in adjusted EPS and $806.3 million in revenue, while announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, equivalent to a 1.0% yield.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 230,100 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 38,534 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned about 0.18% of Verisk Analytics worth $41,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth $13,489,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 302,134 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $66,778,000 after acquiring an additional 14,720 shares during the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth $2,367,000. Danske Bank A S grew its position in Verisk Analytics by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 76,761 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,171,000 after acquiring an additional 5,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 348,196 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $77,888,000 after acquiring an additional 61,719 shares during the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VRSK. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $185.00 price objective on Verisk Analytics and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $225.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Verisk Analytics from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird set a $247.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.27.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of Verisk Analytics stock opened at $191.77 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $189.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.39. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.94 and a 12-month high of $273.83. The firm has a market cap of $24.96 billion, a PE ratio of 29.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.67. 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 (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 net margin of 28.24% and a negative return on equity of 239.55%. Verisk Analytics's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.750 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.72%.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In other news, Director Samuel G. Liss sold 4,671 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.21, for a total transaction of $851,102.91. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 69,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,590,346.58. The trade was a 6.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.95, for a total value of $71,980.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,308,200.80. This represents a 2.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,227 shares of company stock worth $4,174,599. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Company Profile

Verisk Analytics, Inc NASDAQ: VRSK is a data analytics and decision‑support provider that helps organizations assess and manage risk. The company supplies data, predictive models and software to customers in insurance, reinsurance, financial services, government, energy and other commercial markets. Its offerings are designed to support underwriting, pricing, claims management, catastrophe modeling, fraud detection and regulatory compliance, enabling clients to make more informed operational and strategic decisions.

Verisk's product portfolio combines large proprietary datasets with analytics platforms and industry‑specific applications.

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