UBS Group Raises Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Price Target to $320.00

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at UBS Group from $295.00 to $320.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the business services provider's stock. UBS Group's price objective suggests a potential upside of 5.43% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on VRSK. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $302.40.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Verisk Analytics stock traded down $5.99 on Monday, reaching $303.51. 594,552 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 866,117. Verisk Analytics has a one year low of $245.01 and a one year high of $312.82. The company has a 50-day moving average of $292.29 and a 200 day moving average of $286.97. 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 company has a market capitalization of $42.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.35, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $753.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $750.31 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. Verisk Analytics's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.38, for a total value of $88,614.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO David J. Grover sold 5,705 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.68, for a total value of $1,755,314.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,363 shares of company stock worth $2,529,187. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Verisk Analytics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 468.8% during the fourth 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. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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