Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Stock Position Reduced by Riverbridge Partners LLC

Riverbridge Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 332,564 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 21,160 shares during the quarter. Verisk Analytics accounts for about 1.6% of Riverbridge Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Riverbridge Partners LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Verisk Analytics worth $98,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 6,050.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 123 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other news, CAO David J. Grover sold 5,705 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.68, for a total value of $1,755,314.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,980,456.16. The trade was a 30.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.86, for a total transaction of $337,028.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,940,865.96. This trade represents a 7.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,259 shares of company stock valued at $7,553,769. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 0.1%

Verisk Analytics stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $306.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,894,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 765,787. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.59 and a 52-week high of $322.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $304.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.13. The stock has a market cap of $42.81 billion, a PE ratio of 44.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.87.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.05. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 33.13% and a return on equity of 396.08%. The firm had revenue of $753.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.31 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.35%.

Verisk Analytics Company 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.