Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $252.00.

VRSK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America lowered Verisk Analytics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $223.17 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $234.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.86 billion, a PE ratio of 53.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.78. Verisk Analytics has a 12 month low of $187.86 and a 12 month high of $251.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.85, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

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

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

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend yield of 0.70%. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 37.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.93, for a total transaction of $346,433.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,528,824.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO David J. Grover sold 6,481 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,829,348.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,554 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.93, for a total transaction of $346,433.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 51,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,528,824.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,300 shares of company stock valued at $2,647,952 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verisk Analytics Company 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.