Inspire Investing LLC Decreases Stock Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Inspire Investing LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,940 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,556 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $3,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSK opened at $264.76 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.32 and a 12 month high of $287.13. The stock has a market cap of $37.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.40, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day moving average is $271.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.55.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $716.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In related news, 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,483.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total transaction of $55,476.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,408 shares in the company, valued at $4,551,251.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,470 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,483.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSK has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on Verisk Analytics from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $268.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.23.

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.