Norinchukin Bank The Grows Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Norinchukin Bank The raised its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 132,420 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,542 shares during the quarter. Verisk Analytics accounts for approximately 0.8% of Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $36,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $526,676,000. Amundi grew its position in Verisk Analytics by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,252,532 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,226,000 after acquiring an additional 430,719 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth $110,094,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 31,634.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 394,461 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $108,646,000 after purchasing an additional 393,218 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,210,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,435,012,000 after purchasing an additional 392,270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $293.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $292.29 and a 200 day moving average of $283.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36. The company has a market capitalization of $41.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.34 and a 52 week high of $306.68.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $735.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $733.55 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is a positive change from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total transaction of $348,229.44. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,071,832.96. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.38, for a total value of $88,614.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,922,507.70. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,837 shares of company stock worth $1,121,618. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut shares of Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.40.

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.