Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 981.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,282 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 127,312 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned 0.10% of Verisk Analytics worth $31,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRSK. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 223.9% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 149 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.57, for a total transaction of $68,628.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,428,654.88. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher John Perry bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $180.00 per share, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $538,920. The trade was a 50.15% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms recently commented on VRSK. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $223.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Capital One Financial set a $224.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verisk Analytics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 25th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $238.20.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Verisk Analytics
Verisk Analytics Trading Down 1.8%
Verisk Analytics stock opened at $181.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.73 billion, a PE ratio of 27.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $190.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.02. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.70 and a 52 week high of $322.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42.
Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.06. Verisk Analytics had a negative return on equity of 2,405.75% and a net margin of 29.34%.The firm had revenue of $782.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $771.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.73 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.750 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.44%.
Verisk Analytics Company Profile
(
Free Report)
Verisk Analytics, Inc NASDAQ: VRSK is a data analytics and decision‑support provider that helps organizations assess and manage risk. The company supplies data, predictive models and software to customers in insurance, reinsurance, financial services, government, energy and other commercial markets. Its offerings are designed to support underwriting, pricing, claims management, catastrophe modeling, fraud detection and regulatory compliance, enabling clients to make more informed operational and strategic decisions.
Verisk's product portfolio combines large proprietary datasets with analytics platforms and industry‑specific applications.
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