Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 14,322 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,945,000.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 468.8% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Verisk Analytics Stock Performance
NASDAQ:VRSK traded down $1.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $314.34. 300,299 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 765,409. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $297.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $290.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $245.01 and a 12 month high of $322.96.
Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $753.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $750.31 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.35%.
Verisk Analytics declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
VRSK has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $302.40.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Verisk Analytics
Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics
In other news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total transaction of $348,229.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.38, for a total transaction of $88,614.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,363 shares of company stock worth $2,529,187 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.
Verisk Analytics Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Verisk Analytics, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Verisk Analytics wasn't on the list.
While Verisk Analytics currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
If a company's CEO, COO, and CFO were all selling shares of their stock, would you want to know? MarketBeat just compiled its list of the twelve stocks that corporate insiders are abandoning. Complete the form below to see which companies made the list.
Get This Free Report
