Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Makes New Investment in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 47,144 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,985,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VRSK. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,981,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth $96,000. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth $3,044,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,623 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 2,581 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Verisk Analytics stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $314.38. 1,204,511 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 760,100. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $251.59 and a 12-month high of $317.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $43.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $298.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.46.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.05. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. The company had revenue of $753.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.31 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Verisk Analytics's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is 26.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,665 shares in the company, valued at $4,922,507.70. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total transaction of $348,229.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,071,832.96. This trade represents a 7.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,363 shares of company stock valued at $2,529,187 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on VRSK. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $302.40.

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.