Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $5.46 Million Holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,354 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,886 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $5,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 6,050.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 123 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 966.7% in the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 128 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 0.3%

VRSK traded up $0.96 on Thursday, hitting $305.13. 632,364 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 763,344. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.13, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock's fifty day moving average is $305.85 and its 200-day moving average is $293.28. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $257.59 and a 12 month high of $322.92. The company has a market cap of $42.68 billion, a PE ratio of 44.68, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.87.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.05. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 396.08% and a net margin of 33.13%. The company had revenue of $753.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $750.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.35%.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 5,419 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.10, for a total value of $1,723,783.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 56,701 shares in the company, valued at $18,036,588.10. This trade represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Samuel G. Liss sold 11,656 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.06, for a total value of $3,649,027.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 67,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,051,406.64. This trade represents a 14.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,259 shares of company stock valued at $7,553,769 over the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Verisk Analytics Company 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.