Quest Partners LLC Sells 6,282 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Quest Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 81.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,282 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the first quarter worth $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.31, for a total transaction of $52,462.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,356,444.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total value of $88,743.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,033,483.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.31, for a total transaction of $52,462.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,608 shares in the company, valued at $4,356,444.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 726 shares of company stock valued at $196,682. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 0.1 %

Verisk Analytics stock opened at $268.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.32 and a 52 week high of $287.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $271.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $253.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.15, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.86.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $716.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.45 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 252.11%. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is currently 29.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Verisk Analytics from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $278.00 to $263.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.14.

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.