Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC cut its Verisk Analytics stake by 85.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 115,271 shares and ending with 19,695 shares worth about $4.4 million.
• Verisk reported quarterly earnings of $1.82 per share on revenue of $782.6 million, topping analyst estimates, and it also authorized a $2.5 billion share buyback.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally cautious: the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” with a consensus price target of $237.20, while Verisk also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share.

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 85.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,695 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 115,271 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $4,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRSK. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 334.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 754,548 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $188,237,000 after buying an additional 580,885 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1,879.0% during the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 566,235 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $142,414,000 after buying an additional 537,623 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 232.3% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 760,599 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $191,298,000 after buying an additional 531,713 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 114.3% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 987,011 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $248,243,000 after buying an additional 526,508 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 115.4% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 874,918 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $220,051,000 after buying an additional 468,782 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 2,335 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.51, for a total value of $400,475.85. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,868 shares in the company, valued at $2,721,520.68. The trade was a 12.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.22, for a total value of $63,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,118,164.48. This trade represents a 2.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 3,535 shares of company stock valued at $614,676 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $225.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Monday, March 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $235.00 target price on Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Verisk Analytics from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $237.20.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 0.8%

Verisk Analytics stock opened at $172.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.64 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.72. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.94 and a 12 month high of $322.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $199.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $782.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $771.62 million. Verisk Analytics had a negative return on equity of 2,405.75% and a net margin of 29.34%.The business's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.73 earnings per share. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.750 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

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

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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