Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) in a report issued on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $305.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. UBS Group increased their target price on 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 lowered their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $278.00 to $263.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $268.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued 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 $273.54.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of VRSK opened at $262.36 on Monday. Verisk Analytics has a 1-year low of $215.32 and a 1-year high of $287.13. The stock has a market cap of $37.37 billion, a PE ratio of 48.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $270.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.89.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.10. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 252.11%. The business had revenue of $716.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 29.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 16,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,356,444.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total transaction of $88,743.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,470 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,483.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of Verisk Analytics 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 726 shares of company stock valued at $196,682 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSK. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the first quarter valued at $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the second quarter valued at $34,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.