VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Buys 11,900 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems increased its Verisk Analytics stake by 12.5%, purchasing 11,900 shares to own 106,750 shares valued at approximately $17.9 million. Institutional investors collectively hold about 90% of the company.
• Verisk’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with adjusted earnings of $1.98 per share and revenue of $806.3 million, up 4.3% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $224.79, while company insiders have sold 11,805 shares worth about $2.2 million over the past three months.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,750 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,900 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned approximately 0.08% of Verisk Analytics worth $17,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRSK. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 47.8% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 204 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the first quarter worth approximately $52,000. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $196.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.15, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.69. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.94 and a 1-year high of $227.16. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $181.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.81.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. Verisk Analytics had a negative return on equity of 239.55% and a net margin of 28.24%. The company had revenue of $806.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $804.02 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.85, for a total transaction of $73,940.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,250,402.40. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Lee Shavel sold 3,535 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.70, for a total value of $603,424.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,490 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,243. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,805 shares of company stock valued at $2,203,266. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRSK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Verisk Analytics from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore set a $223.00 price target on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $235.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.79.

Verisk Analytics Profile

Verisk Analytics, Inc NASDAQ: VRSK, doing business as Verisk, is a global data analytics and technology company serving the insurance industry and other risk-focused markets. Its platforms help organizations use data, statistical models and workflow tools to evaluate risk, make decisions and improve operational efficiency.

Verisk's insurance offerings support underwriting, pricing, claims management, fraud detection, catastrophe modeling and regulatory compliance. Its products include industry data, predictive analytics, property and casualty risk solutions, claims-estimating tools and information used by insurers to assess property, vehicles, businesses and other exposures.

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