Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lowered its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 46.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,276 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,106 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.'s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $2,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRSK. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 897 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Bell Bank increased its position in Verisk Analytics by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Bell Bank now owns 1,005 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,076 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Haverford Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 903 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of VRSK stock traded up $4.78 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $314.35. 740,734 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 769,689. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $245.01 and a 1 year high of $314.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36. The stock has a market cap of $43.97 billion, a PE ratio of 49.04, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $293.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.24.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $753.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.31 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. Verisk Analytics's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Research analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is 26.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.86, for a total value of $337,028.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $3,940,865.96. This trade represents a 7.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO David J. Grover sold 5,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.68, for a total transaction of $1,755,314.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,980,456.16. This trade represents a 30.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,363 shares of company stock worth $2,529,187 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America started coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $302.40.

About Verisk Analytics

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.