UBS Group AG Purchases 60,664 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 26.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 293,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,664 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 0.20% of Verisk Analytics worth $70,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSK. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Verisk Analytics by 48.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in Verisk Analytics by 506.5% during the third quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 188 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Verisk Analytics during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics during the third quarter worth about $58,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $238.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $254.31.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 1.7 %

VRSK opened at $249.25 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $234.13 and its 200-day moving average is $237.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.94. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $214.67 and a 1-year high of $254.14. The company has a market cap of $35.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.50, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.79.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.11. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 28.45% and a return on equity of 268.19%. The business had revenue of $704.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.07 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.10%.

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In other news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.61, for a total value of $53,937.47. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,852,407.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.12, for a total value of $361,499.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,035,744.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 227 shares of the business’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 transaction of $53,937.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,852,407.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,304 shares of company stock worth $2,648,390. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

About Verisk Analytics

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.