Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by Jensen Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Jensen Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Verisk Analytics by 33.6% during the first quarter, now holding approximately $98 million worth of shares.
• Verisk Analytics reported earnings of $1.88 per share for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and reflecting a 7.8% revenue growth year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45, translating to an annualized yield of 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 27.73%.

Jensen Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 33.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 329,275 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 166,971 shares during the period. Verisk Analytics makes up approximately 1.1% of Jensen Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Jensen Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.24% of Verisk Analytics worth $97,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 966.7% during the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 128 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its position in Verisk Analytics by 186.7% in the first 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 during the period. 90.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK traded down $0.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $264.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,038,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,117,912. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $260.17 and a fifty-two week high of $322.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $301.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $296.92. 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 $36.96 billion, a PE ratio of 40.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.83.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 460.89% and a net margin of 30.67%. The business 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 company posted $1.74 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is 27.73%.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 9,319 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 5,419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.86, for a total transaction of $1,630,360.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 55,913 shares in the company, valued at $16,821,985.18. This represents a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,825 shares of company stock worth $8,947,730 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America started coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research 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 research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $317.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $305.60.

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.