Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC reduced its holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 162,209 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,332 shares during the quarter. Verisk Analytics accounts for 3.6% of Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC owned about 0.12% of Verisk Analytics worth $48,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,004 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,251,000 after buying an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 18.8% during the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $724,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the period. Adero Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 5.0% during the first quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the first quarter worth approximately $466,000. Finally, Trust Point Inc. lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 5.4% in the first quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 1,687 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

VRSK stock opened at $310.41 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $303.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.42 billion, a PE ratio of 48.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a one year low of $257.59 and a one year high of $322.92.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.05. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. The business had revenue of $753.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is 26.35%.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, Director Samuel G. Liss sold 11,656 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 67,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,051,406.64. The trade was a 14.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,937 shares in the company, valued at $3,980,456.16. This represents a 30.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,259 shares of company stock valued at $7,553,769. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $302.40.

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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