MV Capital Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

MV Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 42.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 577 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 424 shares during the quarter. MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSK. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,159,000. Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at $299,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,407 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $663,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 12,011 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 67,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,462,000 after buying an additional 2,020 shares in the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 0.8 %

Verisk Analytics stock opened at $294.58 on Friday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.34 and a 1-year high of $306.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $290.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $281.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.96, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.01. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. The business had revenue of $735.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.55 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is a boost from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.87%.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total transaction of $595,428.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,557,155.96. The trade was a 18.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.81, for a total transaction of $321,642.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,760,958.66. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,648 shares of company stock worth $1,613,047. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, January 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.33.

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.