National Bank of Canada FI Buys 38,621 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 39.4%, acquiring an additional 38,621 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 136,734 shares worth $40.7 million.
• Verisk Analytics reported a net margin of 30.67% and a return on equity of 460.89% with a quarterly earnings beat, posting $1.88 earnings per share against an estimate of $1.77.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for September 15th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.7%.

National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 39.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 136,734 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 38,621 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.10% of Verisk Analytics worth $40,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VRSK. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its stake in Verisk Analytics by 966.7% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Verisk Analytics stock opened at $265.04 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $300.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $296.94. 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 cap of $37.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.83. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $260.17 and a fifty-two week high of $322.92.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $772.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $767.91 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 30.67% and a return on equity of 460.89%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share 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 given 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 (DPR) is 27.73%.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In related news, Director Samuel G. Liss sold 11,656 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.06, for a total transaction of $3,649,027.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 67,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,051,406.64. This trade represents a 14.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 5,419 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 55,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,821,985.18. This represents a 8.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,120 shares of company stock worth $7,192,416. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $317.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.

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