Fred Alger Management LLC Purchases 19,882 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 47.6% in the first quarter, now owning 61,614 shares valued at approximately $18.34 million.
• Insider transactions revealed that Kathy Card Beckles and Samuel G. Liss both sold shares, with Beckles reducing her position by 3.38% and Liss by 14.77%.
• Verisk Analytics is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share on September 30th, representing a yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 27.73%.

Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 47.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,614 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 19,882 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $18,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSK. Louisbourg Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 966.7% during the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 128 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 172 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 1.3%

VRSK stock traded up $3.47 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $266.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,083,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 956,065. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $280.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $293.36. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $259.01 and a 1-year high of $322.92. The firm has a market cap of $37.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.34.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $772.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.91 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 30.67% and a return on equity of 460.89%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.800-7.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. 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 currently 27.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.00, for a total value of $80,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 15,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,144,620. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.86, for a total transaction of $98,080.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,803,714.34. This trade represents a 3.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,621 shares of company stock worth $7,574,943. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on VRSK. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $317.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wolfe Research began coverage on Verisk Analytics in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial set a $315.00 target price on Verisk Analytics and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $306.91.

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.