Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Holdings Lessened by Ycg LLC

Key Points

• Ycg LLC decreased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 1.3%, owning 193,297 shares valued at approximately $57.5 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Verisk Analytics reported a Q2 earnings per share of $1.88, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $772.6 million for the quarter, up 7.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45, yielding approximately 0.7%, to be paid on September 30th to shareholders of record by September 15th.

YCG LLC reduced its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 193,297 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,532 shares during the quarter. Verisk Analytics makes up about 4.5% of YCG LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. YCG LLC owned about 0.14% of Verisk Analytics worth $57,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. bought a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC raised 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 186.7% in 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 in the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 1.3%

VRSK stock traded up $3.51 during trading on Thursday, hitting $267.70. 1,452,951 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,204,955. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $259.01 and a 1 year high of $322.92. The firm's 50 day moving average is $296.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $296.39. The stock has a market cap of $37.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.34, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $772.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.91 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 30.67% and a return on equity of 460.89%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.45 dividend. 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 27.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSK has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $317.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $305.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 5,419 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.86, for a total value of $1,630,360.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 55,913 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,821,985.18. The trade was a 8.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Samuel G. Liss sold 11,656 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.06, for a total transaction of $3,649,027.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 67,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,051,406.64. This trade represents a 14.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,120 shares of company stock worth $7,192,416 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Company 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.