Sandler Capital Management Has $11.32 Million Stock Holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK

Key Points

• Sandler Capital Management increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 7.7%, owning 38,023 shares valued at approximately $11.32 million, making it their largest holding.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price for Verisk Analytics at $306.91, with ratings ranging from "Buy" to "Hold" from multiple research firms.
• Verisk Analytics announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for September 15th, contributing to a 0.7% annual yield.

Sandler Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,023 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,723 shares during the period. Verisk Analytics accounts for 2.8% of Sandler Capital Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Sandler Capital Management's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $11,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.86, for a total transaction of $98,080.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,803,714.34. This trade represents a 3.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.00, for a total transaction of $80,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 15,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,144,620. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,621 shares of company stock worth $7,574,943 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial set a $315.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $306.91.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK traded down $4.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $268.66. 902,688 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 975,781. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $281.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $293.58. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $259.01 and a 12 month high of $322.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.53 billion, a PE ratio of 41.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.86.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $772.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.91 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 30.67% and a return on equity of 460.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.800-7.000 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. 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.