Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK Shares Bought by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its Verisk Analytics stake by 11% in the fourth quarter, adding 7,114 shares to bring its total holdings to 72,067 shares worth about $16.1 million.
• Verisk reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.82 versus the $1.76 consensus and revenue of $782.6 million, up 4% year over year.
• The company also approved a $2.5 billion share repurchase program and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, implying a 1.2% annual yield.

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 72,067 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,114 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Verisk Analytics worth $16,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRSK. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.1% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,232 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 39.6% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 11,931 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,551,000 after purchasing an additional 3,385 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 114.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 253 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 52.2% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 135,876 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $42,325,000 after purchasing an additional 46,603 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $161.47 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $186.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42. The company has a market cap of $21.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.72. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.75 and a twelve month high of $322.92.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $782.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $771.62 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 29.34% and a negative return on equity of 2,405.75%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.73 earnings per share. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.57, for a total value of $68,628.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,984 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,428,654.88. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christopher John Perry purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $180.00 per share, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $538,920. This represents a 50.15% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verisk Analytics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $235.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group set a $224.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $223.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.20.

Verisk Analytics Profile

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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