Inspire Trust Co. N.A. Boosts Stock Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK

Key Points

• Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its Verisk Analytics stake by 180% in the fourth quarter, ending with 14,000 shares worth about $3.13 million.
• Verisk reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.82 versus estimates of $1.76 and revenue of $782.6 million, while also reaffirming full-year guidance and setting FY2026 EPS guidance at 7.45–7.75.
• The company authorized a $2.5 billion stock buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, payable June 30, signaling continued capital returns to shareholders.

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 180.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares during the quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.'s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $3,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 2,335 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.51, for a total transaction of $400,475.85. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,868 shares in the company, valued at $2,721,520.68. This represents a 12.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.22, for a total value of $63,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,118,164.48. This trade represents a 2.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 3,535 shares of company stock valued at $614,676 over the last 90 days. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of VRSK stock opened at $172.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.64 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.72. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.94 and a 1-year high of $322.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $178.18 and a 200 day moving average of $199.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $782.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $771.62 million. Verisk Analytics had a negative return on equity of 2,405.75% and a net margin of 29.34%.Verisk Analytics's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.73 EPS. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Verisk Analytics from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Verisk Analytics from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price objective on Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $235.00 target price on Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $237.20.

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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