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

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $302.40.

Several analysts have issued reports on VRSK shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. 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 report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $306.02 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $305.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.13. Verisk Analytics has a 12-month low of $257.59 and a 12-month high of $322.92. The company has a market cap of $42.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.87.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.05. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 33.13% and a return on equity of 396.08%. The company had revenue of $753.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Verisk Analytics will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In related news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 5,419 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.10, for a total value of $1,723,783.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 56,701 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,036,588.10. This represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Samuel G. Liss sold 11,656 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.06, for a total transaction of $3,649,027.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 67,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,051,406.64. This trade represents a 14.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,259 shares of company stock worth $7,553,769 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 24.1% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 303,480 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $90,076,000 after buying an additional 58,954 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank increased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 3.0% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 9,974 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,968,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 0.5% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 13,428 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,996,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the first quarter worth approximately $11,012,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 114.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 253 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in 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.

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