Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Stock Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK – Get Rating) by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,180 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Clarius Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Veriti Management LLC boosted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Veriti Management LLC now owns 2,933 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. CAPROCK Group Inc. boosted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. CAPROCK Group Inc. now owns 1,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC now owns 19,128 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,262,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pendal Group Ltd boosted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pendal Group Ltd now owns 4,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.89% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verisk Analytics news, Director David B. Wright sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.88, for a total value of $731,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,775,764.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on VRSK shares. Barclays increased their target price on Verisk Analytics from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday, October 25th. Redburn Partners began coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research note on Wednesday, January 11th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $201.00 in a report on Thursday, November 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.36.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $183.95 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $178.56 and a 200 day moving average of $181.23. The company has a market cap of $28.77 billion, a PE ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.05 and a 12-month high of $222.11.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 1st. The business services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46. The company had revenue of $745.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $757.80 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 37.62% and a net margin of 34.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.25%.

About Verisk Analytics

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Verisk Analytics, Inc provides data analytics solutions in the United States and internationally. The company provides predictive analytics and decision support solutions to customers in rating, underwriting, claims, catastrophe and weather risk, global risk analytics, natural resources intelligence, economic forecasting, commercial banking and finance, and various other fields.