Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Acquires 237 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK – Get Rating) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,169 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $1,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the second quarter worth $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in Verisk Analytics during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 36.3% during the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. 89.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Verisk Analytics stock opened at $180.96 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $179.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $27.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.84. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.05 and a fifty-two week high of $222.11.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 1st. The business services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.26. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 41.53% and a net margin of 32.92%. The business had revenue of $630.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $615.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This is an increase from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verisk Analytics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Redburn Partners initiated coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Wednesday, January 11th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $191.00 to $188.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.09.

Verisk Analytics Profile

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Verisk Analytics, Inc is a data analytics provider, which engages in the provision of data analytics for customers in insurance, energy markets and financial services. It operates through the following segments: Insurance, Energy & Specialized Markets, and Financial Services. The Insurance segment serves insurance customers and focuses on the prediction of loss, the selection and pricing of risk, and compliance.