Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Director Bruce Edward Hansen Sells 1,179 Shares

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.81, for a total value of $321,642.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,760,958.66. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK traded up $6.90 on Wednesday, hitting $280.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,088,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 891,151. The company has a market capitalization of $39.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.34 and a 12 month high of $296.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $282.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.51.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.07. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. The firm had revenue of $725.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. Verisk Analytics’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 24.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSK. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 101.5% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 276 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the third quarter worth $79,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 418.8% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 332 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on VRSK shares. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $279.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $263.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $289.80.

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.