Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Acquired by Fred Alger Management LLC

Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 35.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,788 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $13,221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter worth about $21,263,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in Verisk Analytics by 58.0% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 27,343 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,370,000 after purchasing an additional 10,032 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Verisk Analytics by 16.3% during the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 59,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,083,000 after purchasing an additional 8,343 shares in the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at approximately $17,935,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at approximately $240,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Verisk Analytics from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $268.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.23.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $4,551,251.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of Verisk Analytics 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,408 shares in the company, valued at $4,551,251.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total value of $88,743.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of Verisk Analytics stock opened at $265.16 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $270.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $255.46. The company has a market cap of $37.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.47, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a one year low of $215.32 and a one year high of $287.13.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.10. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 252.11% and a net margin of 32.03%. The business had revenue of $716.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.10%.

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.