Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 61.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,783 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 92,095 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $13,802,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRSK. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 9,489 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,242,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 2.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 12,621 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,982,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,332 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 69,900 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $16,513,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Telemus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 3rd quarter worth $200,000. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSK traded up $3.57 on Friday, hitting $237.33. 1,127,556 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,025,848. The company has a market capitalization of $33.86 billion, a PE ratio of 44.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.94, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business's fifty day moving average is $231.42 and its 200 day moving average is $235.99. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $205.70 and a 52 week high of $251.98.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.11. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 28.45% and a return on equity of 268.19%. The company had revenue of $704.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $699.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. Verisk Analytics's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is 29.10%.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In other news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,554 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.93, for a total value of $346,433.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,528,824.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,554 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.93, for a total transaction of $346,433.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 51,715 shares in the company, valued at $11,528,824.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 227 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.61, for a total value of $53,937.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,852,407.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,300 shares of company stock worth $2,647,952. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VRSK shares. Evercore ISI restated an "in-line" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Verisk Analytics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $238.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $252.21.

Verisk Analytics 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.