Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA decreased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 99,692 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 14,659 shares during the quarter. Verisk Analytics accounts for approximately 1.6% of Unigestion Holding SA’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Unigestion Holding SA owned 0.07% of Verisk Analytics worth $27,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 468.8% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total value of $595,428.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,557,155.96. This represents a 18.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.81, for a total value of $321,642.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $3,760,958.66. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,648 shares of company stock valued at $1,613,047 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Verisk Analytics stock opened at $284.99 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $292.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $282.37. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $39.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.46, a PEG 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 data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $735.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.55 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays cut shares of Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.