Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC lowered its holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 38.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,786 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,769 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $2,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRSK. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 26,374 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,264,000 after purchasing an additional 7,050 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 37.7% during the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,487 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $490,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,409 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 6.6 %

VRSK stock opened at $284.99 on Friday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a one year low of $217.34 and a one year high of $306.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.46, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $292.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $282.37. 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 (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.01. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. The firm had revenue of $735.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $733.55 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.87%.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total transaction of $595,428.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,557,155.96. The trade was a 18.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total transaction of $348,229.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,071,832.96. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,648 shares of company stock worth $1,613,047. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on VRSK shares. Barclays lowered Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.33.

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.