Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Holdings Raised by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 30,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $8,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSK. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 101.5% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 276 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSK opened at $273.49 on Wednesday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.34 and a 12 month high of $296.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.62 billion, a PE ratio of 42.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $282.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $725.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $722.19 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 24.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.49, for a total transaction of $57,298.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 15,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,471,535.92. This represents a 1.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.81, for a total value of $321,642.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $3,760,958.66. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,379 shares of company stock worth $946,141. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $285.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $263.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $279.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.11.

Verisk Analytics 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.