Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Stake Lowered by Ycg LLC

Ycg LLC reduced its stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 195,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,432 shares during the period. Verisk Analytics comprises approximately 4.3% of Ycg LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Ycg LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $53,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 468.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of Verisk Analytics stock opened at $290.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $40.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $287.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $279.86. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a one year low of $217.34 and a one year high of $306.10.

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

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. This is a boost from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is presently 26.87%.

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,155.96. The trade was a 18.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total value of $348,229.44. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,071,832.96. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,648 shares of company stock worth $1,613,047 in the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verisk Analytics 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.