Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Makes New $1.22 Million Investment in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,097 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,219,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 6,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 123 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 966.7% in the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 128 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of VRSK traded down $5.76 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $304.17. 818,528 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 763,868. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $257.59 and a 52 week high of $322.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.13. The company's 50 day moving average is $305.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $293.28. The company has a market capitalization of $42.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.53, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.87.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.05. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 396.08% and a net margin of 33.13%. The business had revenue of $753.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is currently 26.35%.

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Verisk Analytics from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $302.40.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In related news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 5,419 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.10, for a total transaction of $1,723,783.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 56,701 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,036,588.10. This trade represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.38, for a total value of $88,614.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,922,507.70. The trade was a 1.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,259 shares of company stock valued at $7,553,769 over the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verisk Analytics Profile

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.