Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH trimmed its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 80.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 709 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,955 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 468.8% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Verisk Analytics Stock Up 0.2%
Shares of NASDAQ VRSK traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $317.51. The company had a trading volume of 667,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 759,853. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $251.59 and a 1-year high of $318.08. The company has a market capitalization of $44.41 billion, a PE ratio of 49.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $298.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.71.
Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.05. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. The company had revenue of $753.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $750.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.
Verisk Analytics declared that its board has approved 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 buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.35%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Verisk Analytics news, CAO David J. Grover sold 5,705 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.68, for a total value of $1,755,314.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,937 shares in the company, valued at $3,980,456.16. This represents a 30.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.86, for a total value of $337,028.94. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $3,940,865.96. This trade represents a 7.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,363 shares of company stock valued at $2,529,187 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
VRSK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $302.40.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on VRSK
About Verisk Analytics
(
Free Report)
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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