Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by NewEdge Wealth LLC

NewEdge Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 232 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRSK. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 67.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 134 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSK opened at $222.25 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $236.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.36. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.86 and a twelve month high of $251.98. The company has a market capitalization of $31.72 billion, a PE ratio of 52.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.85.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The business services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.04). Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 305.15% and a net margin of 22.92%. The business had revenue of $677.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $673.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verisk Analytics news, CAO David J. Grover sold 6,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.06, for a total transaction of $1,510,461.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,140 shares in the company, valued at $2,829,348.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,554 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.93, for a total value of $346,433.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 51,715 shares in the company, valued at $11,528,824.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO David J. Grover sold 6,481 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.06, for a total value of $1,510,461.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,829,348.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,300 shares of company stock worth $2,647,952 over the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America lowered Verisk Analytics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.00.

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.