Investment Management Corp of Ontario Has $26.10 Million Stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 94,767 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the quarter. Verisk Analytics accounts for about 0.9% of Investment Management Corp of Ontario's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Investment Management Corp of Ontario owned approximately 0.07% of Verisk Analytics worth $26,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in Verisk Analytics by 468.8% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

VRSK traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $301.27. 835,398 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 768,453. The business's 50-day moving average price is $292.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $287.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.14 billion, a PE ratio of 47.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $245.01 and a 1-year high of $312.82.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $753.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $750.31 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In related news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.86, for a total transaction of $337,028.94. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $3,940,865.96. This represents a 7.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.38, for a total transaction of $88,614.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,922,507.70. This represents a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,363 shares of company stock valued at $2,529,187 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America started coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $302.40.

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.