Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Sells 83,038 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC reduced its stake in Verisk Analytics by 44.3%, now owning approximately $31.11 million worth of stock.
• Brokerage reports suggest a mixed outlook for Verisk, with targets ranging from $300.00 to $335.00 and an average consensus price target of $305.60.
• Verisk Analytics reported a 7.8% year-over-year revenue increase and a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.88, exceeding analyst expectations.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lessened its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 44.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 104,528 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 83,038 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Verisk Analytics worth $31,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its position in Verisk Analytics by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 172 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VRSK shares. Raymond James Financial set a $315.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Verisk Analytics from $317.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $305.60.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,803,714.34. This trade represents a 3.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Lee Shavel sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.01, for a total value of $294,811.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,147,865.07. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,620 shares of company stock worth $7,862,427. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ VRSK traded up $3.3150 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $274.3250. 170,877 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 901,605. The firm has a market cap of $38.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.30, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $293.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.34. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $259.01 and a 1-year high of $322.92.

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 the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.800-7.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.73%.

Verisk Analytics Company 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.