Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by TIAA Trust National Association

Key Points

• TIAA Trust National Association reduced its stake in Verisk Analytics by 19.4%, now holding 7,431 shares valued at approximately $2.2 million.
• Verisk Analytics reported earnings per share of $1.88 for the last quarter, beating estimates by $0.11, with quarterly revenue up 7.8% compared to last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, with a payout ratio of 27.73%, highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

TIAA Trust National Association cut its stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 19.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,431 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,793 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $2,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRSK. Louisbourg Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 966.7% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $317.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 target price (down from $325.00) on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $305.60.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

VRSK stock traded down $3.89 during trading on Monday, hitting $268.00. 1,527,177 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,060,289. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.34. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $259.22 and a 52 week high of $322.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $305.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $297.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.83.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 30.67% and a return on equity of 460.89%. The firm had revenue of $772.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm 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 is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is presently 27.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.88, for a total transaction of $91,164.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 15,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,790,668.20. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, 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 28,825 shares of company stock valued at $8,947,730 over the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Verisk Analytics

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.