Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 402,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 21,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $110,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 468.8% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total transaction of $595,428.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,155.96. The trade was a 18.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.81, for a total value of $321,642.99. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,760,958.66. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,648 shares of company stock worth $1,613,047. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VRSK shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays downgraded Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.33.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

VRSK stock opened at $288.58 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.48 billion, a PE ratio of 45.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $287.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $280.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.34 and a 52-week high of $306.10.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $735.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $733.55 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. Analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.87%.

Verisk Analytics 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.