Baird Financial Group Inc. Acquires 3,527 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK

Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 86,727 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Verisk Analytics worth $27,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Verisk Analytics by 150.2% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 228,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,298,000 after buying an additional 137,392 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 33,747 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,512,000 after acquiring an additional 7,107 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 167.2% in the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $991,000 after acquiring an additional 1,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $221.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.55. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.99 and a twelve month high of $322.92. The company has a market cap of $30.83 billion, a PE ratio of 33.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50 day moving average is $228.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.00.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $768.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $776.04 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 30.42% and a return on equity of 425.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.800-7.000 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.44%.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $65,097.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,160,459.35. This trade represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Lee Shavel sold 1,100 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $238,689.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 77,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,883,340.93. The trade was a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 1,450 shares of company stock valued at $314,663 and sold 2,000 shares valued at $452,871. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRSK. Argus downgraded Verisk Analytics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $314.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $262.00 to $250.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $315.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $282.14.

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.