Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Hits New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $753.00 million for 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 firm's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.35%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America initiated coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $298.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verisk Analytics news, CAO David J. Grover sold 5,705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.68, for a total transaction of $1,755,314.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,980,456.16. This represents a 30.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total value of $348,229.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,071,832.96. The trade was a 7.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,363 shares of company stock valued at $2,529,187 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at about $212,000. Norris Perne & French LLP MI raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 61,889 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,046,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 105,331 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,011,000 after purchasing an additional 42,883 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 5.3% in 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 during the period. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,957,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 2.5%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $292.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $286.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89.

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.