Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Receives $297.40 Average PT from Analysts

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. 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. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $298.90.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lowered Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO David J. Grover sold 5,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.68, for a total value of $1,755,314.40. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.86, for a total transaction of $337,028.94. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,363 shares of company stock valued at $2,529,187. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 468.8% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Louisbourg Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Verisk Analytics stock opened at $309.50 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $43.31 billion, a PE ratio of 48.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $292.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $286.68. Verisk Analytics has a fifty-two week low of $244.99 and a fifty-two week high of $312.82.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $753.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.35%.

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

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.