Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Bought by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK – Get Rating) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,169 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $1,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 36.3% in the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Alta Advisers Ltd purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the third quarter valued at approximately $85,000. 89.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSK has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Verisk Analytics from $181.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $191.00 to $188.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group increased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $165.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.09.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Verisk Analytics stock opened at $180.96 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $179.98 and its 200-day moving average is $178.65. The company has a market cap of $27.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 1st. The business services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $630.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $615.30 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 41.53% and a net margin of 32.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. This is an increase from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.82%.

Verisk Analytics Company Profile

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Verisk Analytics, Inc is a data analytics provider, which engages in the provision of data analytics for customers in insurance, energy markets and financial services. It operates through the following segments: Insurance, Energy & Specialized Markets, and Financial Services. The Insurance segment serves insurance customers and focuses on the prediction of loss, the selection and pricing of risk, and compliance.