Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Trading Down 6.3% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Verisk Analytics' stock dropped 6.3% in trading, closing at $275.57, with a volume increase of 38% from the average daily trading volume.
• Analysts have divergent opinions on the stock's outlook, with one 'sell' rating, six 'hold' ratings, and three 'buy' ratings, leading to a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $302.40.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.65%, amidst reports of significant earnings and revenue growth compared to the previous year.

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) fell 6.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $276.62 and last traded at $275.57. 1,187,532 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 38% from the average session volume of 860,361 shares. The stock had previously closed at $294.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on VRSK. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $317.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $304.56.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.34. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $305.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $297.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.99 billion, a PE ratio of 41.89, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.83.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 30.67% and a return on equity of 460.89%. The business had revenue of $772.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $767.91 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.86, for a total transaction of $98,080.36. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,803,714.34. This represents a 3.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO David J. Grover sold 5,705 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.68, for a total transaction of $1,755,314.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,937 shares in the company, valued at $3,980,456.16. The trade was a 30.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,825 shares of company stock valued at $8,947,730. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRSK. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 966.7% in the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 128 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

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.