Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by Raiffeisen Bank International AG

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG has reduced its stake in Verisk Analytics by 12.0%, now holding 223,492 shares valued at approximately $65.8 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Verisk Analytics reported a 7.8% year-over-year revenue increase, with $1.88 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.77.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, yielding 0.7%, payable on September 30th to shareholders on record as of September 15th.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG lessened its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 12.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 223,492 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 30,388 shares during the quarter. Verisk Analytics comprises about 1.0% of Raiffeisen Bank International AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Raiffeisen Bank International AG owned 0.16% of Verisk Analytics worth $65,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.1% in the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 3,175 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 3.1% during the first quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 1,208 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 10.2% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 389 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verisk Analytics by 1.0% in the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 3,993 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,170,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Verisk Analytics by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,475 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 5,419 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.86, for a total transaction of $1,630,360.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 55,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,821,985.18. The trade was a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.88, for a total value of $91,164.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 15,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,790,668.20. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,825 shares of company stock worth $8,947,730. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America began coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $317.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective (down from $325.00) on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $305.60.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of VRSK traded down $2.40 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $265.60. The company had a trading volume of 298,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 884,471. The stock has a market cap of $37.11 billion, a PE ratio of 40.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.83. 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 1-year low of $260.17 and a 1-year high of $322.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $304.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.47.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $772.60 million during 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%. Verisk Analytics's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS 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 paid a $0.45 dividend. 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.