Optas LLC Makes New Investment in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Optas LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 874 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Verisk Analytics by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 13,174 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,921,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $165,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 944 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 2.8% in the first quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 5,079 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 5.7% in the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 6,282 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,870,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In other news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 5,419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 56,701 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,036,588.10. This represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Samuel G. Liss sold 11,656 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.06, for a total value of $3,649,027.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 67,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,051,406.64. The trade was a 14.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,259 shares of company stock worth $7,553,769. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $310.41 on Monday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $257.59 and a 12-month high of $322.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $303.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $292.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.05. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. The business had revenue of $753.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $750.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is presently 26.35%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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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