Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Receives $275.23 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $275.23.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VRSK shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $278.00 to $263.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ VRSK opened at $264.79 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $270.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86. The stock has a market cap of $37.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.86. Verisk Analytics has a 12 month low of $215.32 and a 12 month high of $287.13.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $716.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.45 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 252.11%. Verisk Analytics’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics will post 6.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total value of $55,476.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,551,251.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total value of $55,476.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,551,251.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total transaction of $88,743.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,033,483.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the second quarter worth $31,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Company 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.