Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Given a $315.00 Price Target by Raymond James Financial Analysts

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial has reaffirmed its "outperform" rating for Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK), with a revised target price of $315.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.09% from current trading levels.
• Verisk Analytics reported earnings of $1.88 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a total revenue of $772.6 million, reflecting a 7.8% increase year-over-year.
• Institutional investors now hold 90.00% of Verisk Analytics' stock, with several recent new positions being established by various firms including Louisbourg Investments Inc. and Global Financial Private Client LLC.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) received a $315.00 target price from equities researchers at Raymond James Financial in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the business services provider's stock. Raymond James Financial's target price points to a potential upside of 18.88% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on VRSK. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $317.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $305.60.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

VRSK traded up $0.26 during trading on Monday, reaching $264.98. The stock had a trading volume of 849,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,115,352. Verisk Analytics has a 1-year low of $260.17 and a 1-year high of $322.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $303.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $297.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.34.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $772.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.91 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 460.89% and a net margin of 30.67%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO David J. Grover sold 5,705 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,980,456.16. The trade was a 30.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.86, for a total transaction of $98,080.36. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,803,714.34. This represents a 3.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 28,825 shares of company stock valued at $8,947,730. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Verisk Analytics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 3,175 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,017 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,809,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY boosted its position in Verisk Analytics by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 341 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bennett Selby Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 3.1% in the first quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 1,208 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company's stock.

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.