Avanza Fonder AB Raises Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK

Avanza Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 47.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,193 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,914 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $3,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,241,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,336,366,000 after buying an additional 346,525 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted 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 valued at $1,346,605,000 after acquiring an additional 158,791 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $556,192,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Verisk Analytics by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,694,505 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $426,185,000 after acquiring an additional 26,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Verisk Analytics by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,493,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $374,547,000 after acquiring an additional 89,193 shares during the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ VRSK opened at $194.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $26.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.81. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.60 and a fifty-two week high of $322.92. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $220.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $778.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $773.74 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 357.00% and a net margin of 29.56%.The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period 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. On average, analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

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

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on VRSK shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $223.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Verisk Analytics from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Christopher John Perry bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $180.00 per share, with a total value of $180,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $538,920. This trade represents a 50.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.71, for a total transaction of $81,884.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 20,384 shares in the company, valued at $4,172,808.64. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Verisk Analytics

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.