Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $267.77.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRSK. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $268.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $262.28 on Thursday. Verisk Analytics has a 12-month low of $215.32 and a 12-month high of $287.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $268.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.03. The company has a market capitalization of $37.35 billion, a PE ratio of 49.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $716.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $722.45 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 252.11% and a net margin of 32.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verisk Analytics will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In related news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,511 shares of the company’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 value of $376,057.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $13,066,200. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,511 shares of the company’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 value of $376,057.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $13,066,200. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.31, for a total value 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. Insiders have sold a total of 2,237 shares of company stock worth $572,739 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,407,133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,919,008,000 after acquiring an additional 170,620 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth $374,530,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 5.5% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,502,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $405,030,000 after acquiring an additional 78,008 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 90.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,141,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $272,663,000 after acquiring an additional 542,432 shares during the period. Finally, GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.1% during the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 1,137,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $268,041,000 after acquiring an additional 12,231 shares during the period. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.