Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Trading Up 5.8% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) shares traded up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $233.63 and last traded at $230.59. 256,447 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 876,572 shares. The stock had previously closed at $217.96.

The business services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.11. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 268.19% and a net margin of 28.45%. The business had revenue of $704.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $699.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 29.10%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 21st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $238.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Verisk Analytics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.61, for a total value of $53,937.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,852,407.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 227 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.61, for a total transaction of $53,937.47. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,852,407.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,554 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.93, for a total value of $346,433.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 51,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,528,824.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,300 shares of company stock valued at $2,647,952. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSK. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 346,646 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $82,800,000 after purchasing an additional 34,077 shares in the last quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 421.9% in the 4th quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,011,000 after buying an additional 60,957 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Verisk Analytics by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 522,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $124,777,000 after acquiring an additional 28,008 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,332 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc raised its position in Verisk Analytics by 55.2% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 60,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,409,000 after acquiring an additional 21,458 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.94. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $231.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.03. The company has a market cap of $33.37 billion, a PE ratio of 43.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.79.

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.