Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Sets New 12-Month High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $312.62 and last traded at $307.74, with a volume of 112839 shares. The stock had previously closed at $296.19.

The business services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $753.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.31 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Verisk Analytics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is 26.87%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $297.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.38, for a total transaction of $88,614.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,922,507.70. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.86, for a total value of $337,028.94. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,940,865.96. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,837 shares of company stock worth $1,121,618. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRSK. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. Norris Perne & French LLP MI raised its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 61,889 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $17,046,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 105,331 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,011,000 after acquiring an additional 42,883 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 41,155 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,335,000 after purchasing an additional 2,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth about $2,957,000. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 3.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $291.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $285.95.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.