Entropy Technologies LP Invests $907,000 in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 3,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $907,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VRSK. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the third quarter worth about $383,000. Range Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Verisk Analytics by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. City Holding Co. grew its stake in Verisk Analytics by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 4,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. DMC Group LLC lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 2,418 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after buying an additional 479 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK traded down $1.98 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $279.16. 831,167 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 847,004. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $262.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $245.62. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.32 and a 52-week high of $282.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.94, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $39.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 29.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the insider now owns 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $13,066,200. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.31, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.88, for a total transaction of $376,057.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 52,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,066,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,237 shares of company stock worth $572,739. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VRSK shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $238.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $257.21.

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.