Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK – Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $293.11.
Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $279.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered shares of Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $285.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.
Read Our Latest Analysis on VRSK
Verisk Analytics Stock Up 0.3 %
Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $725.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.19 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. Verisk Analytics’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.
Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 24.34%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 13,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,760,958.66. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total value of $595,428.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,557,155.96. This trade represents a 18.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,490 shares of company stock worth $1,541,570. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 14.9% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 55.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 76.7% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,683 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 58.0% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 27,343 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,370,000 after acquiring an additional 10,032 shares during the period. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.
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