Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $12.34 Million Stock Holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 117.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,672 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,870 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $12,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 506.5% during the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 188 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $222.25 on Wednesday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.86 and a 1-year high of $251.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.72 billion, a PE ratio of 52.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.78.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The business services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $677.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is an increase from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,829,348.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,507 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.25, for a total value of $375,619.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,208 shares in the company, valued at $12,514,344. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO David J. Grover sold 6,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.06, for a total value of $1,510,461.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,829,348.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,300 shares of company stock valued at $2,647,952 in the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America cut Verisk Analytics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $252.00.

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.