Griffin Asset Management Inc. Raises Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 14.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,926 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,586 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $3,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 48.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,356,444.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.31, for a total value of $52,462.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,608 shares in the company, valued at $4,356,444.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.88, for a total value of $376,057.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,066,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,265 shares of company stock valued at $774,953. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of VRSK stock traded down $1.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $269.55. 1,101,753 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 765,502. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $250.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $242.15. The company has a market cap of $38.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.94, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.32 and a 12-month high of $273.70.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $704.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.07 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 28.45% and a return on equity of 268.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Verisk Analytics from $238.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $255.08.

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.