Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is mixed on Verisk Analytics, with 15 brokerages averaging a “Hold” rating. The consensus 12-month price target is $237.20, above the stock’s recent trading level.
• Verisk reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.82 versus $1.76 expected and revenue of $782.6 million versus $771.6 million expected. The company also raised its FY 2026 EPS guidance to 7.45–7.75.
• The company authorized a $2.5 billion share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, payable June 30. Meanwhile, insiders recently sold shares, while institutional investors continue to own about 90% of the stock.

Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $237.20.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $235.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Verisk Analytics from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $239.00 to $206.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Verisk Analytics from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, February 19th.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSK opened at $181.73 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $176.00 and a 200-day moving average of $198.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $23.81 billion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.69. Verisk Analytics has a 52-week low of $155.94 and a 52-week high of $321.83.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $782.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $771.62 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 29.34% and a negative return on equity of 2,405.75%. Verisk Analytics's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.73 EPS. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is 30.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verisk Analytics news, Director Samuel G. Liss sold 6,765 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.63, for a total value of $1,201,666.95. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 69,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,273,877.74. This trade represents a 8.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 2,336 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.99, for a total transaction of $408,776.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,776,741.32. This represents a 12.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $2,225,119 in the last quarter. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,241,327 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,336,366,000 after buying an additional 346,525 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,076,730 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,359,304,000 after buying an additional 88,300 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,354,082 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,346,605,000 after buying an additional 158,791 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,121,219 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $923,576,000 after buying an additional 36,194 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,914,224 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $875,574,000 after buying an additional 362,050 shares during the period. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Verisk Analytics

Verisk Analytics, Inc NASDAQ: VRSK is a data analytics and decision‑support provider that helps organizations assess and manage risk. The company supplies data, predictive models and software to customers in insurance, reinsurance, financial services, government, energy and other commercial markets. Its offerings are designed to support underwriting, pricing, claims management, catastrophe modeling, fraud detection and regulatory compliance, enabling clients to make more informed operational and strategic decisions.

Verisk's product portfolio combines large proprietary datasets with analytics platforms and industry‑specific applications.

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