Bowie Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Bowie Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 65,966 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,011 shares during the quarter. Verisk Analytics accounts for approximately 1.0% of Bowie Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Bowie Capital Management LLC's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $18,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 897 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Bell Bank raised its stake in Verisk Analytics by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Bell Bank now owns 1,005 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners boosted its position in Verisk Analytics by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,076 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Haverford Trust Co grew its stake in Verisk Analytics by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 903 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSK traded down $2.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $307.85. The stock had a trading volume of 948,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 763,411. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.28 and a 12-month high of $313.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $291.96 and a 200-day moving average of $286.12. The company has a market capitalization of $43.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $753.00 million for 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%. The business's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.87%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays cut Verisk Analytics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $310.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America started coverage on Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $298.90.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 16,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,922,507.70. The trade was a 1.77 % 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, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.95, for a total transaction of $347,746.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,066,180.70. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,837 shares of company stock worth $1,121,618. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Verisk Analytics

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.