Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Position Reduced by EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.

Key Points

• EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. reduced its stake in Verisk Analytics by 4.9%, holding 31,202 shares valued at approximately $9.29 million after selling 1,600 shares in the first quarter.
• Verisk Analytics reported a quarterly EPS of $1.88, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.77, with a revenue increase of 7.8% year-over-year to $772.60 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.65% and is expected to post an EPS of 6.63 for the current fiscal year.

EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. cut its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,202 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. Verisk Analytics accounts for 1.9% of EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.'s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $9,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC raised 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 valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of Verisk Analytics stock traded down $6.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $271.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,544,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 983,088. The firm has a market cap of $37.99 billion, a PE ratio of 41.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $305.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $297.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.34. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $259.22 and a fifty-two week high of $322.92.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $772.60 million during 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. 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 is 27.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.88, for a total value of $91,164.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,765 shares in the company, valued at $4,790,668.20. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO David J. Grover sold 5,705 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.68, for a total transaction of $1,755,314.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,980,456.16. The trade was a 30.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,825 shares of company stock valued at $8,947,730. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on VRSK. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $302.30.

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.