Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Acquired by Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 40.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,170 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,110 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $3,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRSK. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 3,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 961 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 293,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $70,142,000 after buying an additional 60,664 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,668 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Balentine LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSK opened at $265.96 on Friday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.32 and a 12 month high of $287.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.88 billion, a PE ratio of 49.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $271.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $254.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $722.45 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 252.11% and a net margin of 32.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total value of $55,476.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,551,251.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total transaction of $55,476.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,551,251.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total transaction of $88,743.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,033,483.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their price target on Verisk Analytics from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $268.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.23.

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.