Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Acquires Shares of 91,936 Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 91,936 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $25,322,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned about 0.07% of Verisk Analytics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSK. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 0.3 %

Verisk Analytics stock traded down $0.93 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $295.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 372,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 768,372. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $291.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $285.12. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $222.61 and a 12 month high of $306.68. The company has a market capitalization of $41.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $735.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $733.55 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Verisk Analytics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is presently 26.87%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. 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. Barclays cut Verisk Analytics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $297.40.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total transaction of $348,229.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,071,832.96. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 16,665 shares in the company, valued at $4,922,507.70. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,837 shares of company stock valued at $1,121,618. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.