King Luther Capital Management Corp Lowers Stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

King Luther Capital Management Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 153,478 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 33,360 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned approximately 0.11% of Verisk Analytics worth $34,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the first quarter worth about $27,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 153.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 124 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 61.2% during the second quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In related news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,516 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.02, for a total value of $372,966.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,931 shares in the company, valued at $10,807,904.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Verisk Analytics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $267.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 9th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Argus began coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, September 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $288.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Monday, October 30th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.23.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRSK opened at $239.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $34.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.22, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.74 and a 1 year high of $249.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $237.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.05.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 1st. The business services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $677.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $663.33 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 135.34% and a net margin of 19.04%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 5.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 14th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Verisk Analytics Profile

Verisk Analytics, Inc provides data analytics solutions to the insurance markets in the United States and internationally. The company provides predictive analytics and decision support solutions to customers in rating, underwriting, claims, catastrophe and weather risk, global risk analytics, and various other fields.