Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 11.2%, acquiring an additional 26,156 shares, bringing their total to 258,685 shares worth approximately $76.99 million.
• Verisk Analytics has received mixed analyst ratings, with a current average rating of "Hold" and a price target averaging $305.60, after recent ratings changes from firms like Raymond James and Robert W. Baird.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, which will be paid on September 30th, representing an annualized yield of 0.7% based on a dividend payout ratio of 27.73%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 258,685 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,156 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.18% of Verisk Analytics worth $76,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSK. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 1.1% during the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 3,175 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Bennett Selby Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 3.1% in the first quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 1,208 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 389 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 3,993 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,170,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Verisk Analytics by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,475 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRSK. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $317.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $305.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In other news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 5,419 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.10, for a total value of $1,723,783.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 56,701 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,036,588.10. This trade represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.88, for a total value of $91,164.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 15,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,790,668.20. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,120 shares of company stock worth $7,192,416. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 0.2%

Verisk Analytics stock traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $265.04. The stock had a trading volume of 830,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,132,169. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $300.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $297.08. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $260.17 and a twelve month high of $322.92. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $37.03 billion, a PE ratio of 40.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.83.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $772.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.91 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 460.89% and a net margin of 30.67%. The company's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. Analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.73%.

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.