Intech Investment Management LLC Acquires 12,166 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 277.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,166 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $3,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 506.5% during the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 188 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSK traded up $2.33 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $251.58. The company had a trading volume of 689,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 873,145. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.97. The stock has a market cap of $35.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.17 and a 1 year high of $254.14. 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 (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $704.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $699.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.10%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective 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 reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $254.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.61, for a total transaction of $53,937.47. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,796 shares in the company, valued at $1,852,407.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO David J. Grover sold 6,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.06, for a total transaction of $1,510,461.86. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,140 shares in the company, valued at $2,829,348.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were 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 $1,852,407.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,304 shares of company stock worth $2,648,390 over the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.