Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 4,536 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Verisk Analytics by 7.6%, selling 4,536 shares and holding 55,075 shares worth approximately $16.39 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Insider trading reports highlight significant sales, including Director Samuel G. Liss's sale of 11,656 shares for over $3.64 million and CEO Lee Shavel's sale of 1,100 shares valued at nearly $295,000.
• Analysts maintain a mixed outlook, with target prices ranging from $300 to $335 per share, as the stock received ratings from "Buy" to "Sell" from various research firms.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,075 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,536 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $16,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Louisbourg Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics during the first quarter worth $25,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 966.7% during the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 128 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the first quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 186.7% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 172 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Samuel G. Liss sold 11,656 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director owned 67,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,051,406.64. This represents a 14.77% 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, CEO Lee Shavel sold 1,100 shares of Verisk Analytics 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,147,865.07. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,620 shares of company stock valued at $7,862,427 in the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report 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 research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $305.60.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $268.31 on Wednesday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a one year low of $259.01 and a one year high of $322.92. The company has a market cap of $37.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.83. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $289.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $295.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.34, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $767.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. Verisk Analytics's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.800-7.000 EPS. Equities analysts expect 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 Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.7%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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