Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Holdings Raised by Prudential PLC

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. by 64.2%, acquiring an additional 6,927 shares, bringing its total ownership to 17,713 shares valued at approximately $5.27 million.
• Insider transactions included Samuel G. Liss, a director, selling 11,656 shares for over $3.64 million, representing a decrease of 14.77% in his position.
• Verisk Analytics declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, set to be paid on September 30th, reflecting an annual yield of 0.7% with a payout ratio of 27.73%.

Prudential PLC lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 64.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,713 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,927 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $5,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 225.2% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 14,919 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,440,000 after acquiring an additional 10,331 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 21.9% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 77,807 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $23,157,000 after buying an additional 13,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 88.4% in the first quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $601,000 after buying an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $317.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a 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 note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $315.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $305.60.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Verisk Analytics stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $267.86. 940,177 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,252,774. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $295.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $296.39. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $259.01 and a fifty-two week high of $322.92. The firm has a market cap of $37.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.27, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.83. 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 (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $772.60 million during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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 shares were 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 directly owned 56,701 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,036,588.10. This represents a 8.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.86, for a total transaction of $98,080.36. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,319 shares in the company, valued at $2,803,714.34. This represents a 3.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,120 shares of company stock worth $7,192,416 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.