Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 40.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,478 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,136 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $3,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $526,676,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 36,332.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,204,468 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $358,474,000 after buying an additional 1,201,162 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,252,532 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $351,226,000 after buying an additional 430,719 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at $110,094,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Verisk Analytics by 31,634.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 394,461 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $108,646,000 after acquiring an additional 393,218 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.86, for a total value of $337,028.94. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,940,865.96. The trade was a 7.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Samuel G. Liss sold 11,656 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.06, for a total transaction of $3,649,027.36. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 67,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,051,406.64. The trade was a 14.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,259 shares of company stock worth $7,553,769 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 0.1%

VRSK opened at $306.02 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $305.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.81, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.87. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $257.59 and a fifty-two week high of $322.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.13, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $753.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $750.31 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 396.08% and a net margin of 33.13%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is 26.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on VRSK. 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 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $302.40.

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.

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