Bank of Nova Scotia Boosts Stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 1,643.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 286,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 269,835 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.21% of Verisk Analytics worth $71,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Verisk Analytics by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,241,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,336,366,000 after purchasing an additional 346,525 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,354,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,346,605,000 after purchasing an additional 158,791 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $556,192,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,493,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,547,000 after purchasing an additional 89,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,492,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $375,433,000 after buying an additional 360,419 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Capital One Financial set a $224.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.20.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of VRSK opened at $201.22 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.76 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $204.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.60 and a 12-month high of $322.92.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $778.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $773.74 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 29.56% and a return on equity of 357.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.75 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is currently 30.82%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.54, for a total transaction of $65,862.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,738.10. This represents a 2.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher John Perry bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $180.00 per share, with a total value of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $538,920. The trade was a 50.15% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verisk Analytics Profile

Verisk Analytics, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSK) is a data analytics and decision‑support provider that helps organizations assess and manage risk. The company supplies data, predictive models and software to customers in insurance, reinsurance, financial services, government, energy and other commercial markets. Its offerings are designed to support underwriting, pricing, claims management, catastrophe modeling, fraud detection and regulatory compliance, enabling clients to make more informed operational and strategic decisions.

Verisk’s product portfolio combines large proprietary datasets with analytics platforms and industry‑specific applications.