JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 393,668 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 52.7%, owning approximately 1,141,005 shares worth $339,586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
• Verisk Analytics reported $1.88 EPS for the latest quarter, beating analyst estimates, with a revenue of $772.60 million, reflecting a 7.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.45 on September 30th, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.7% with a payout ratio of 27.73%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 52.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,141,005 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 393,668 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.82% of Verisk Analytics worth $339,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRSK. Louisbourg Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the first quarter worth $25,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 966.7% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the first quarter worth $48,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 186.7% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 172 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verisk Analytics news, Director Christopher John Perry purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $259.80 per share, with a total value of $259,800.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,625.40. The trade was a 129.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.86, for a total value of $98,080.36. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,319 shares in the company, valued at $2,803,714.34. The trade was a 3.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,120 shares of company stock valued at $7,192,416 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Verisk Analytics stock traded up $3.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $267.70. 1,452,951 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,204,955. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.40 billion, a PE 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $259.01 and a 12-month high of $322.92. The business's 50-day moving average is $297.17 and its 200-day moving average is $296.51.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is currently 27.73%.

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.