Flossbach Von Storch AG Lowers Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Flossbach Von Storch AG trimmed its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 66.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 285,990 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 569,243 shares during the quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG owned about 0.20% of Verisk Analytics worth $68,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRSK. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 5.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,523,191 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,777,279,000 after purchasing an additional 392,945 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Verisk Analytics by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,929,841 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,164,626,000 after buying an additional 182,631 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,821,265 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $731,736,000 after buying an additional 49,928 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 248.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,765,708 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $664,346,000 after buying an additional 2,684,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1,404.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,992,727 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $470,762,000 after acquiring an additional 1,860,298 shares during the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:VRSK traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $222.25. 841,364 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 878,728. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $236.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $237.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.79, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.85, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.86 and a 12-month high of $251.98.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The business services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.04). Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 305.15%. The company had revenue of $677.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $673.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. Verisk Analytics's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is a boost from Verisk Analytics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.05%.

Insider Activity

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,507 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.25, for a total value of $375,619.75. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,514,344. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO David J. Grover sold 6,481 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.06, for a total value of $1,510,461.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,829,348.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,507 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.25, for a total value of $375,619.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 50,208 shares in the company, valued at $12,514,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,300 shares of company stock worth $2,647,952. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI restated an "in-line" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America cut shares of Verisk Analytics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $252.00.

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.

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