Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Acquired by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 19.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,647 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,037 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Verisk Analytics worth $49,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 468.8% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 0.0%

VRSK traded up $0.14 on Wednesday, hitting $313.24. 146,900 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 854,662. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $245.01 and a twelve month high of $314.64. The company has a market cap of $43.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $294.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.69.

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

Verisk Analytics declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.35%.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In related news, CAO David J. Grover sold 5,705 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.68, for a total value of $1,755,314.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,980,456.16. This trade represents a 30.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.38, for a total value of $88,614.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,665 shares in the company, valued at $4,922,507.70. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,363 shares of company stock worth $2,529,187 over the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VRSK shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.