UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Buys 4,342 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 292.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,827 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,342 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $1,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted 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 lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $238.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $258.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 16,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,356,444.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total transaction of $88,743.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,033,483.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.31, for a total transaction of $52,462.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,608 shares in the company, valued at $4,356,444.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,237 shares of company stock worth $572,739. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSK traded down $0.49 on Tuesday, reaching $278.12. The company had a trading volume of 391,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 843,735. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.68 billion, a PE ratio of 51.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $265.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $246.85. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.32 and a 12 month high of $282.21.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.11. The company 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%. Verisk Analytics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

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

About Verisk Analytics

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.