HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 3.9%, now owning 136,268 shares worth approximately $40.56 million.
• Verisk Analytics reported Q2 earnings with an EPS of $1.88, surpassing analyst estimates, and a net margin of 30.67%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, with a yield of 0.7%, indicating a payout ratio of 27.73%.

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,268 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,513 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Verisk Analytics worth $40,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRSK. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $508,611,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Verisk Analytics by 36,332.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,204,468 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $358,474,000 after buying an additional 1,201,162 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Verisk Analytics by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,251,051 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $669,958,000 after buying an additional 596,225 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 52.7% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,141,005 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $339,586,000 after purchasing an additional 393,668 shares during the period. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at $70,005,000. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSK opened at $264.19 on Thursday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $259.01 and a 52-week high of $322.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.34, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $36.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $297.17 and a 200-day moving average of $296.51.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $772.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is currently 27.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on VRSK. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Raymond James Financial set a $315.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $305.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.86, for a total value of $98,080.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,803,714.34. The trade was a 3.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Samuel G. Liss sold 11,656 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.06, for a total transaction of $3,649,027.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 67,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,051,406.64. This represents a 14.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,120 shares of company stock valued at $7,192,416. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRSK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.