Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by Geneva Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Geneva Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Verisk Analytics by 2.4%, now holding approximately 110,459 shares valued at $32.88 million.
• Verisk Analytics announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.7% with a payout ratio of 27.73%.
• Analysts have varying price targets for Verisk Analytics, with a consensus target price of $304.56, and ratings ranging from "underperform" to "outperform."

Geneva Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 110,459 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,769 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Verisk Analytics worth $32,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 225.2% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 14,919 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,440,000 after acquiring an additional 10,331 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the first quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the first quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 21.9% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 77,807 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $23,157,000 after purchasing an additional 13,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 88.4% in the first quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSK has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $317.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $304.56.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 2.4%

VRSK opened at $271.89 on Monday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $305.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.34, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a one year low of $259.22 and a one year high of $322.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.83.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 460.89% and a net margin of 30.67%. The business had revenue of $772.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $767.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO David J. Grover sold 5,705 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.68, for a total value of $1,755,314.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,980,456.16. This represents a 30.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 5,419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.86, for a total transaction of $1,630,360.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 55,913 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,821,985.18. The trade was a 8.84% 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 valued at $8,947,730. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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