UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 35.6% in the first quarter, bringing its total shares to 1,653,727, valued at approximately $492 million.
• Several other institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and Ameriprise Financial, also significantly increased their holdings in Verisk Analytics during the same period.
• Verisk Analytics plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, with an ex-dividend date set for September 15, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.7%.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 35.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,653,727 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 434,053 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned 1.18% of Verisk Analytics worth $492,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 186.7% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 172 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. 90.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.00, for a total transaction of $80,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 15,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,144,620. The trade was a 1.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Lee Shavel sold 1,100 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.01, for a total value of $294,811.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,147,865.07. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,965 shares of company stock worth $3,925,916. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Verisk Analytics stock traded down $3.51 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $258.24. The stock had a trading volume of 324,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 909,614. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $258.03 and a 12 month high of $322.92. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $279.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $292.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.08 billion, a PE ratio of 39.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.86. 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 (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $772.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $767.91 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 460.89% and a net margin of 30.67%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.800-7.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is presently 27.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VRSK shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $317.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial set a $315.00 target price on Verisk Analytics and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Five 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $306.91.

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.