Prudential PLC Sells 816 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Prudential PLC decreased its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 11.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,518 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 816 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $1,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in Verisk Analytics by 31.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 63.5% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 3,634 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 1,411 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 12.8% during the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 13,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,659,000 after buying an additional 1,571 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 68,779 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 25.2% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In related news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.12, for a total value of $360,203.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,962,269.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.13, for a total transaction of $87,963.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,569,570.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.12, for a total value of $360,203.84. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,962,269.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 17,682 shares of company stock valued at $4,085,894. 1.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.92.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of VRSK opened at $242.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.83. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.94 and a twelve month high of $243.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $231.72 and a 200-day moving average of $211.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.29.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $675.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $653.13 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 18.64% and a return on equity of 83.76%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.09%.

Verisk Analytics Company Profile

Verisk Analytics, Inc provides data analytics solutions to the insurance markets 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, and various other fields.